The Chicago Blackhawks have now had two good seasons of Ilya Mikheyev in their lineup. He played 80 games in 2024-25 and 77 games in 2025-26, meaning he was available for almost every match on the schedule.
In those games, he had a total of 38 goals, 32 assists, and 70 points as a bottom-six forward who was awarded almost no power-play time. 0 of those 70 points came with the man advantage.
With that said, 4 of those goals and 2 of those assists have come shorthanded. As a defensive player, Mikheyev has established himself as one of the best penalty killers in the entire NHL. Chicago's overall PK has been great, and he's a huge part of it. He defends well and creates a decent amount of offense at even strength as well.
Mikheyev is a pending unrestricted free agent. He was the only one that Kyle Davidson didn't trade away at the deadline. There was no can't-miss deal presented to him, and he does like the idea of returning Mikheyev to help the rebuild take the next step. At 31 years old, he has some really good NHL years ahead.
The report around the deadline was that they did try to get an extension, but it never happened.
On Monday, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman had an update on "32 Thoughts: The Podcast". According to Friedman's report, Mikheyev's negotiating rights have been placed on the trade block.
"I guess it was let known across the league that Chicago probably isn't going to be able to sign Ilya Mikheyev," Friedman said. "His rights are available if any team wants to talk to him in advance of free agency."
Once Mikheyev is traded, that team can sign him ahead of him hitting free agency on July 1st, which is the advantage to acquiring him now instead of waiting. He is probably not getting the max amount of years from anyone, but being the only team that can negotiate with him for a few months may be worth it to someone.
The Blackhawks wouldn't get a significant return for his rights, but anything would be better than losing him for nothing after keeping him at the regular-season trade deadline.
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