Off-Season Countdown: Mikheyev looking to top $4.75M AAV

Ahead of the opening round of the NHL Draft on Thursday and free agency on July 13, TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Looking to Cash In

It appears pending unrestricted free agent Ilya Mikheyev won't come cheap to his next team on the free agent market.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs have informed teams they're open to trading the winger's rights, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports Mikheyev will be looking for a multi-year deal carrying an an average annual value of $4.75 million to $5.5 million on the open market.

Mikheyev, 27, is coming off a career-best season, in which he recorded 21 goals and 32 points. He added two goals and four points in seven playoff games.

The cap-strapped Maple Leafs have a projected $6.4 million in cap space, per CapFriendly, with 18 players under contract for next season. 

Along with Mikheyev, goaltender Jack Campbell is also slated for unrestricted free agency. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reported last month that the Maple Leafs had not made an offer to either player.

"What stands out to me is that the Leafs seemingly haven’t reached out to make an offer yet," Johnston said of talks with Campbell and Mikheyev. "There’s ongoing dialogue and they’ve had discussions with the camps of those guys but no numbers exchanged, no real negotiation and this starts to feel like some guys we’ve seen walk out the door in the past when you look at Zach Hyman and Frederik Andersen in recent years.

"Keep in mind Mikheyev is looking to get $4-to-5 million on the open market and Campbell could even go north of that depending on where the goalie market goes on the 13th."

Mikheyev is coming off a two-year, $3.29 million deal with an average annual value of $1.6 million.

The Omsk, Russia native has 36 goals and 72 points in 146 career NHL games, all with Toronto.

Staying Put?

Jakob Chychrun's name has been on the trade market dating back to the deadline in March, but as the off-season heats up ahead of the draft, it appears the defenceman is likely to remain with the Arizona Coyotes.

Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong told Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports on Friday that, while the door is never closed on a trade, he expects Chrychrun to be back in the desert next season.

“It hasn’t changed much,” Armstrong said. “Jakob is going to come back and play for us next year at this point. We’re always taking offers if it’s something that’s going to better our team. We’ll make those calls at the draft or any other time afterwards, but right now, he’s going to come back and play for us, and we expect him to be a big part of our team next year.”

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported ahead of the trade deadline that the Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins were among the interested teams in Chychrun.

The 24-year-old had seven goals and 21 points in 47 games this past season, his sixth with the Coyotes. He is heading into the fourth year of his six-year, $27.6 million contract with an average annual value of $4.6 million.

Taken 16th overall by the Coyotes at the 2016 NHL Draft, Chychrun had a career season with Arizona in 2020-21, scoring 18 goals and tallying 41 points in 56 games.

In 337 career NHL games, he has 53 goals and 142 points.
 

All Eyes on the Jets

While the Winnipeg Jets checked one box off their off-season to-do list in hiring Rick Bowness as head coach over the weekend, plenty remains on the table for the team this summer.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported on Insider Trading that captain Blake Wheeler is available on the trade market, while the team is also expected to get calls on Pierre-Luc Dubois as he seeks to hit unrestricted free agency in 2024.

"There's tons of speculation around Pierre-Luc Dubois. We know that Blake Wheeler is available, the captain of Winnipeg, but the Jets competitively aren't interested in going backwards," Dreger explained. "They're keenly aware of Pierre-Luc Dubois's contract preference, but he's a big part of that team. So there's tons of trade interest in Dubois. However, if the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens or another team intends on landing Dubois, it's going to take a very substantial offer.

"So, if we're looking at the Rangers, we're looking at [Filip] Chytil, we're looking at [Braden]Schneider, we're looking at [Kaapo] Kakko as one of the main principles and maybe a first-round draft pick on top of that. Otherwise, I don't think that Winnipeg's [general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff] has the stomach to move Dubois this off-season."

Wheeler, 35, scored 17 goals and posted 60 points in 65 games this past season. He is signed through 2023-24 at a cap hit of $8.25 million. The veteran winger has 296 goals and 867 points in 1,046 career games - 825 of which have come with the Jets franchise. 

Dubois is a restricted free agent this summer, coming off a two-year, $10 million contract with an average annual value of $5 million. The 23-year-old had 28 goals and 60 points in 81 games this past season.

Selected third overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2016 NHL Draft, Dubois spent three seasons in Columbus before being dealt to the Jets on Jan. 23, 2021 along with a third-round pick in exchange for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.

In 361 career NHL games, the Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., native has 102 goals and 239 points.

The Jets, who missed the playoffs for the first time in five years this season, have $18 million in cap space this off-season with just 13 players under contract, per CapFriendly.
 

Zaitsev on the Move?

It appears Nikita Zaitsev may have played his final game with the Ottawa Senators. 

Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia writes that, while Zaitsev remains a serviceable defenceman, he no longer fits with the Senators.

Signed for two more seasons at a cap hit of $4.5 million, Zaitsev was paid a $2 million signing bonus on July 1, leaving a total of $7 million in real money left to pay on his current deal.

Garrioch believes that with the bonus now paid, Zaitsev is a more attractive trade options and points to the Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks as teams willing to take on contracts if a draft pick is thrown in to sweeten the deal.

Zaitsev, 30, had two goals and 11 points in 62 games this past season, while averaging 18:59 of ice time per game.