Vancouver signed Teddy Blueger earlier on Thursday and then late Thursday night made a trade that helps them clear some cap space. The Canucks sent winger Ilya Mikheyev to the Chicago Blackhawks, along with the rights to Sam Lafferty and a second round pick in 2027 for a fourth round pick in 2027 in return. The Canucks are also retaining 15% of Mikheyev's cap space:

Let's break this down.

What Chicago Gets

It is important to delineate what Mikheyev once was to what Mikheyev is now. When he was at his best, he was a two-way winger who averaged 22 goals and 19 assists every 82 games from 2020-2023. He could put up over two shots per game and about 1.5 hits every two games. He was a serviceable depth option in multi-cat fantasy leagues and an impactful middle-6 winger in real life.

Those days are likely gone, though. Mikheyev had a severe arm injury that took several months to recover from (if he 100% recovered from that is a fair question) while he also had surgery to repair a torn ACL in the second half of the 2022-23 season. Players do recover from knee injuries, but this was an interesting point made by JFresh:

That is a huge drop in his speed burst and it seemed to follow that knee injury. Maybe another full offseason gets him up to speed, but he has to prove his knee is back to 100% health – we can't just assume that.

If Chicago was getting the Mikheyev of 2021, they would be getting a player who could play on the first, second, or third line. If they get the Mikheyev of 2023, which is what we should assume they are, this is a player who is likely best used in a defensive third-line role and kill penalties. That has value, to be sure, but much more to the team than it does to fantasy owners.

Let us not forget that Mikheyev was given time in a very good Vancouver top-6. It is doubtful he goes to play with Bedard, he is unlikely to get huge minutes with Frank Nazar, so playing on that third line is going to hurt his point production. Fantasy managers should see 40 points as a ceiling, and aim more for 15 goals and 15 assists with very modest peripherals. It just isn't a good situation for a player struggling with key health issues.

This trade leaves Vancouver with about $18M in cap space. They have been linked to Jake Guentzel, who will eat up over half of that, but have just depth signings to make afterwards. It does open up one spot on the left side for either Pius Suter or Nils Hoglander to remain in Vancouver's top-6 forward group.

Provided Taylor Hall is ready to go and is Bedard's line mate in October, this puts a bit of pressure on Lukas Reichel, if only now it gives the team another left-wing option to use on the second line, even if it's unlikely to last for long stretches.

Who This Helps

Nils Hoglander

Pius Suter

Jason Dickinson

Chicago goaltending

Who This Hurts

Ilya Mikheyev

Lukas Reichel

Thatcher Demko