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Canucks helping Blackhawks trade $4 million winger before deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Before the NHL trade deadline, the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks both have a handful of players who could be dealt away.
And as it turns out, in one potential trade, both the Canucks and Blackhawks might play a part.
That's because of salary retention in trades. The Canucks are currently paying 15% of Ilya Mikheyev's salary this season already.
If the Blackhawks decide to move Mikheyev elsewhere, they can retain even more of his money, making him cheaper for an acquiring team.
And this time of year, especially with an altered playoff salary cap looming, the money is more important than ever for teams across the NHL.
Mikheyev is listed on the trade board of The Athletic's Chris Johnston, and given that he's heading for free agency after the season, it'd be logical for Chicago to move him now and get at least a little value in return.
"A big winger capable of playing up and down the lineup, Mikheyev brings a fair amount of versatility with his game," Johnston wrote in his new article on Monday. "He’s been deployed as a penalty-killer throughout his NHL career and is a threat to score short-handed. Not only is Mikheyev a pending UFA, 15 percent of his contract was retained by the Vancouver Canucks in a previous trade, so the cap hit on his deal is eligible to be reduced further."
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At this point, it'd be surprising to see Mikheyev stay put. There's still likely a flurry of activity to come by Friday.
And if the Blackhawks do indeed send him away, they'll have the Canucks to give a little thanks to for managing to facilitate the deal way ahead of time.
More NHL news:
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- A salary cap rule may make 2 Flames trades difficult
- Canadiens know trade cost for Robert Thomas
- It'll be complicated to trade for Steven Stamkos
- Alex Ovechkin has shared an update on his retirement plans
- Evgeni Malkin gets big news on a possible future