Mikheyev - - stay or go?

ShaneFalco

Registered User
Jul 15, 2012
21,414
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London, On
Saw this on the hotstove. He makes 2.19 next year
Toronto Maple Leafs Offseason Questions: The Expansion Draft, Travis Dermott vs. Justin Holl, the Zach Hyman contract, & the power play

I really like what Ilya Mikheyev brings with his speed and penalty killing, but he has zero points in his playoff career, and his inability to finish was honestly reaching comical heights during the season. Maybe the wrist fully heals and he flashes more of what he did as a rookie, but the Leafs can’t bank on it.

Mikheyev is a good penalty killer and checker, and I wouldn’t mind him back as a fourth-liner, but that’s about the extent of it. It’s difficult to have a player on the third line that is not even remotely a scoring threat of any kind, even if he does skate fast and is good on the penalty kill.
 

Buds17

Registered User
Nov 29, 2015
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Still a 1.645 M cap hit though. Barring an ELC player on a higher line, that's even likely to be too expensive for a fourth line role. Being slated for pending free agency doesn't seem to help matters much either. That injury unfortunately led to the downturn in production as his rookie season was quite promising.
 
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hotpaws

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Nov 21, 2009
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let Hyman walk , put Mik on the top line , have him glue himself to the front of crease and bang in garbage like Hyman
 
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bodechek

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Oct 10, 2017
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let Hyman walk , put Mik on the top line , have him glue himself to the front of crease and bang in garbage like Hyman

Mikheyev couldn't do that when he was on the second line, why should that change if he is on the top line? After Mik shot the puck into a defenceman's shin pads instead of an open net in the playoffs, I think I would rather keep Hyman.
 

hotpaws

Registered User
Nov 21, 2009
21,484
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Mikheyev couldn't do that when he was on the second line, why should that change if he is on the top line? After Mik shot the puck into a defenceman's shin pads instead of an open net in the playoffs, I think I would rather keep Hyman.
if Clarkson get score 30 by gluing himself to the crease anyone can and how many goals does Hyman score from 5 feet and out ?
 

Mess

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Feb 27, 2002
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Leafs Home Board
Last 2 years

Ilya Mikheyev @ $1,645,000 AAV in 93 games 15 goals 25 assists 40 points (playing 2nd/3rd line with JT and Nylander at times)
vs
Zach Hyman @ $2,250,000 AAV in 94 games 36 goals 32 assists 70 points (playing 1st/2nd line)

If its expected Mikheyev is now expected to fill the shoes of Hyman departing as UFA then he has quite a bit of work to do as Hyman's bang for you cap buck was significant.
 
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Jimmy Firecracker

Fire Sheldon.
Mar 30, 2010
35,559
34,108
Mississauga
There has to be a capable player who can PK and also doesn’t have hands made of stone. Screw him, sick of watching him f*** up every offensive chance he gets and actively hurting his teammates offensively.
 

jaybo21

Registered User
Oct 4, 2011
78
27
London, Ontario
I hope that he gets traded. He doesn't bring much value at all. He had such promise in his rookie year, then got hurt and was never the same. We need to unload that contract any way we can.....wait wait, I don't want to say that lol, get rid of him any reasonable way possible.
 

bossram

Registered User
Sep 25, 2013
15,324
14,391
Victoria
I must be a much bigger fan of Mikheyev than most here.

I like what he brings defensively, on the forecheck, and on the PK. His hustle is never in question.

Obviously he has hands of stone. And it might never improve, coming back from a nasty wrist injury. But maybe another offseason of rehab might help. He actually is a nice combo with Pierre Engvall and makes sense as a part of a pure defensive/checking unit.

If you can find a guy who can do what he does for cheaper, then yes, the Leafs should be open to that. But I don't think he's the worst cap inefficiency on the team.
 

jaybo21

Registered User
Oct 4, 2011
78
27
London, Ontario
I must be a much bigger fan of Mikheyev than most here.

I like what he brings defensively, on the forecheck, and on the PK. His hustle is never in question.

Obviously he has hands of stone. And it might never improve, coming back from a nasty wrist injury. But maybe another offseason of rehab might help. He actually is a nice combo with Pierre Engvall and makes sense as a part of a pure defensive/checking unit.

If you can find a guy who can do what he does for cheaper, then yes, the Leafs should be open to that. But I don't think he's the worst cap inefficiency on the team.

Maybe but I'm also on the same page with Engvall. I'm not a fan of either of them. I think the money can be better spent else where.
 

Gabriel426

Registered User
Jun 30, 2015
16,522
10,128
Mikheyev and Engvall are players who will chip in here and there. Both got great speed and defensively responsible.
Can’t count on them to score, that’s the job for the 10mil plus boys club.
I think the 3rd player on their line needs to be aggressive and those two will play aggressive. Won’t mind trying to get Trevor Moore back and putting them together and we will probably see a crash and bang line.
 

bossram

Registered User
Sep 25, 2013
15,324
14,391
Victoria
Maybe but I'm also on the same page with Engvall. I'm not a fan of either of them. I think the money can be better spent else where.

My view of Engvall is similar to Mikheyev. I think he really does help the club with his defensive play and skating. Plus, he's only just learned the center position. I actually think there is more upside to Engvall, and he at least has better hands/vision than Mik. Engvall's even-strength P/60 are actually at a low-end 2nd line rate, so relative to his contract, the production is pretty good.

They may need to move one or both to clear cap space (and replace them with a sub $1 million forward), but I would prioritize keeping Engvall.
 

JT AM da real deal

Registered User
Oct 4, 2018
12,056
7,321
Mikheyev and Engvall are players who will chip in here and there. Both got great speed and defensively responsible.
Can’t count on them to score, that’s the job for the 10mil plus boys club.
I think the 3rd player on their line needs to be aggressive and those two will play aggressive. Won’t mind trying to get Trevor Moore back and putting them together and we will probably see a crash and bang line.
Both are big and fast and contribute in their own ways in regular season hockey but best to trade both for a playoff type player at deadline .. neither of these 2 guys has an extra gear and neither wants to help out physically in playoffs .. all 3rd and 4th liners must be able to both skate and play physically in playoffs .. goals not a big deal but even up play is critical
 

JayfromNB1219

Registered User
Mar 27, 2019
2,087
1,171
New Brunswick
Stay…absolutely stay…the guy has a horrific injury literally what 2 years ago…let the guy get back to 100% before you all chuck him under the bus…jayzus cr@p like this is why we can’t have nice things
 

justloveleafs

Registered User
Mar 12, 2021
1,096
849
Paris Ontario
I never made it to the NHL. So take what I say with a grain of salt. But one thing I was really into, was physical play, and I had a build like Marner.

In fact, I even loved getting checked once in a while, because I would try to check back at the last second and ensure the other guy came out worse.

It really pains me see our team. Watching all the other teams, most of them cept the real scorers, seem to enjoy the roughness out there.

We could have beaten Montreal with J.T. and Muzzin, but make no mistake, Montreal plays a team defence with an edge, and its a great d, as well.

I like their team a lot. I have adopted them in a big way.

I want Toronto if they go with players like Engvall, to make sure they are physical too.

But our team will take years to create what I want.
 

TakeTheBody

Registered User
Jan 10, 2018
2,106
1,486
Stay, no brainer. Does everything but score and hit. Plays cheap. I just wish he'd use that size better. Hit a few people. More of a playoff style game. Sadly playoff style may not be what the Leafs seek. That makes me sad....lol
 

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