Over the last couple of years, Ilya Mikheyev proved that he's worth a short-term extension with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Chicago Blackhawks didn't have many bright spots in the final few weeks of the season. However, there were a handful of players who had individual success, based on their current roles, throughout the year.
One of them is forward Ilya Mikheyev. There is a case to be made that Mikheyev has been the top role player on the Chicago Blackhawks roster over the last two years.
The Blackhawks have finished in 31st place in both of Mikheyev's years with them. Despite the team being that low in the standings, he was a plus player. At even strength, he is incredibly efficient with his ice time in all three zones.
He is also one of the best penalty killers in the entire National Hockey League. He makes it hard to get passes through, is strong with his stick and body positioning, and isn't afraid to create a short-handed chance for himself or a teammate.
At 83.6 percent, the Blackhawks had the second-best penalty kill in the league, and Mikheyev had the largest influence on that amongst the forwards.
Mikheyev had 18 goals in 2025-26 and 20 in 2024-25. 38 goals over two years for a player in his role is excellent. Although he isn't a high-end offensive producer, contributing 15-20 a season while doing everything else makes him an important player.
"Great," Jeff Blashill said on Ilya Mikheyev's season. "[He's a] winning hockey player. [He] wins pucks, is really good on our penalty kill, really good two-way player, and gets a lot of chances. He'd like to score more. We'd like him to score more on some of those [chances], but overall I would take Ilya Mikheyev on any team I've ever coached."
If Blashill wants him on his team next year, Kyle Davidson would have to extend him. He is on an expiring contract and needs a new one for 2026-27 and beyond.
Nick Foligno, Connor Murphy, and Jason Dickinson were the other prominent pending unrestricted free agents on the team, but they moved on to playoff teams at the trade deadline. Mikheyev was kept, so it may be in their best interest to lock him in on a short-term deal.
Getting an asset for him would have been smarter than letting him leave for nothing, so now they might as well keep him, since he clearly makes the team better in ways that the stars on the roster can't.
The number of his average annual value won't matter that much to the Blackhawks, as long as it's a short-term deal. Later on, once other young players start to follow Connor Bedard's extension, which will set the tone this summer, they will need the cap space, but Mikheyev won't hinder them right now.
Having a player like him in the lineup takes pressure off other young players as they won't have to eat the big minutes on the penalty kill or be the face of a checking line.
Defending some of the game's top players is part of winning, and it would be hard to take the next step without a veteran like Ilya Mikheyev in the mix. If he leaves, a sound replacement must be a priority.
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