LAS VEGAS — The Blackhawks jump-started NHL Draft week Wednesday by using their ample salary-cap space to make a trade with the Canucks.
In exchange for taking on overpaid forward Ilya Mihkeyev and his contract, the Hawks also acquired the rights to pending free-agent forward Sam Lafferty — a familiar face — and flipped a 2027 fourth-round draft pick for a 2027 second-round pick.
In other words, the Hawks translated $4.04 million in cap space in each of the next two seasons (Mikheyev’s cap hit after the Canucks retained 15%) into first dibs at signing Lafferty and a substantial improvement of draft capital.
Even Mikheyev, who waived his no-trade clause to enable the transaction, has the potential to become a decent middle-six forward for the Hawks if he overcomes his recurring injury woes and rediscovers his old form.
The speedy 29-year-old Russian forward had 32 points in 53 games for the Maple Leafs in 2021-22 and 28 points in 46 games for the Canucks in 2022-23, despite missing half of each of those seasons with wrist and ACL injuries, respectively.
He was finally healthy this past season, appearing in 78 games, but his performance declined. He had 31 points in 78 games during the regular season and struggled even more in the playoffs, going pointless in 11 games.
He’ll move from Vancouver to Chicago as a reclamation project not dissimilar from Jason Dickinson, who has panned out extremely well since being acquired in a similar cap-clearing trade in 2022.
Mikheyev’s contract is a relative non-issue for the Hawks because it expires in 2026, right when Connor Bedard will need a new contract and space will become tighter. And Mikheyev’s speed is one of his strongest attributes, which matches Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson’s preferred playing style.
Meanwhile, Davidson will try to strike asset-management gold again with Lafferty, who emerged as a useful bottom-six forward with the Hawks in 2022-23 before being dealt to the Maple Leafs — basically for a second-round pick — at the deadline that season.
The two-year contract with a $1.15 million cap hit that Lafferty signed with the Hawks two summers ago will expire come Monday, but this trade gives the Hawks his exclusive signing rights until then. He had 24 points in 79 games for the Canucks in 2023-24 but averaged less than 12 minutes of ice time per game.
