A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. I had nine perfect takes ready, but my manager forced me to stop after seven.
1. Nikita Kucherov and his agent, Dan Milstein, were enjoying lunch this week, and the topic of Ilya Mikheyev popped up.
The Toronto Maple Leafs winger has grown into one of the league’s greatest bargains at $1.645 million, but such value is only temporary.
Mikheyev scored his 16th and 17th goals Thursday in a standout performance against the Washington Capitals. He has a career-best 26 points and plus-15 through 45 games, despite skating 15 minutes nightly and starting a meager 36.4 per cent of his shifts in the offensive zone.
“Swiss army knife” was the term used at that lunch.
The late-blooming 27-year-old can hang in the top six or boost the bottom six of a contender. He’s a hard worker who can pinch in on a power play and absolutely improve a penalty kill, threatening to score shorthanded.
“He’s one of those guys who every team needs,” boasts Milstein, Mikheyev’s agent. Maybe he’s selling, but he’s not wrong. “He’s just taken his game to the next level.”
Mikheyev’s shooting percentage has doubled from 6.5 to 13.4 year over year, and it’s not just good fortune.
The affable Russian his teammate call “Mickey” is driving to the blue paint, confidently putting himself in better spots before he pulls the trigger – or dekes a hapless netminder forehand-backhand.
“He’s so fast and explosive. He gets a step on you, he’s gone,” Auston Matthews says. “When he comes down on you with that much speed, as a goalie it’s hard to anticipate what he’s gonna do.”
So, what could the impending unrestricted free agent be worth?
Barclay Goodrow scored eight goals and 26 points in 70 games in 2019-20. Blake Coleman scored 22 goals and 36 points in 2018-19. The former signed for six years and $21.85 million as a UFA, the latter for six years and $29.4 million.
On the open market, Mikheyev’s value should fall between $4 million and $5 million annually. Perhaps he’d take a shade less to remain in Toronto or join another legitimate contender.
“He’s going to be OK financially, no matter what,” Milstein says. “He’s just entering his prime.”
His teammates tend to concur.
“The confidence continues to build,” says John Tavares, Mikheyev’s current centreman. “How hard he competes, how driven he is, it’s tremendous to see.”