Earlier this off-season, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Ilya Mikheyev in free agency.
The Lightning's decision to bring in Mikheyev is not too difficult to understand. Their bottom six was in need of a boost, and he undoubtedly has the potential to provide it with just that.
Mikheyev is a smart two-way forward who not only can chip in solid secondary scoring but also is very effective on the penalty kill. Due to this, he should be a very important part of the Lightning's roster this season.
Mikheyev showed how valuable he can be over the last two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 77 games with Chicago this past season, he scored 18 goals and set a new career high with 36 points. This was after he posted 20 goals and 34 points in 80 games for Chicago in 2024-25.
With numbers like these, Mikheyev was certainly a key part of the Blackhawks' roster, Now, he should be the very same for the Lightning as they aim to keep their Stanley Cup window alive.
It will be interesting to see what kind of season Mikheyev can have for the Lightning in 2026-27, but it is hard not to feel optimistic about him.
