There weren't high expectations for Ilya Mikheyev this season with the Chicago Blackhawks after being acquired in the offseason. The Vancouver Canucks paid to get rid of his contract, allowing the Blackhawks to upgrade from a fourth-round pick to a second-round pick in 2027.

Typically, anytime a player's contract is dumped, they aren't going to play at the level in which they are paid to. That hasn't been the case for Mikheyev as, even though Chicago has ample cap space, he has been worth the $4.037 million AAV cap hit due to his overall play at both ends of the ice.

Mikheyev is a 20-goal scorer this season, tied for third on the team with Connor Bedard. Mikheyev has accomplished this without any power-play goals either while Bedard (20 goals) and Tyler Bertuzzi (21), each have nine goals on the man advantage this season. The Russian winger has also scored three of his goals on the penalty kill due to his strong ability to kill penalties and use his speed.

Mikheyev doesn't have the most assists with just 14, but with a two goal effort in the Blackhawks' last game, he set a new career high in points with 34. He ranks fifth on the team in points this season. On a team that has a -69 goal differential, he leads the team at +2.

At this point, the Blackhawks must be very happy that the team has Mikheyev signed for another season as his play and hard work sets a good example for the younger players. I wouldn't take the team re-signing him to a similar contract to keep him around out of the question either.

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