TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning signed Russian forward Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year, $15.4 million contract when free agency opened July 1, adding a 31-year-old speedster who ranked in the 95th percentile among all NHL forwards for max skating speed last season.
“Excellent forechecker, brings a lot of speed to our group,” Lightning vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois said. “We’re trying to add speed to our group. He wins puck battles, so I think he’s going to fit really well on our team. He adds some speed, has size, wins puck battles and tilts the ice in our favor.”
Mikheyev spent the previous two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, setting career highs for points (36) and time on ice per game (17:26) last season. His 18 goals ranked third on the team, and he finished with 33 even-strength points — also third among Chicago forwards behind only Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi. He was one of only two Blackhawks players with a minimum of 20 games played to finish positive in plus-minus, tying Nick Foligno for the team lead at plus-two.
The signing bolsters a Lightning penalty kill unit that finished third in the NHL at 82.6% last season. Mikheyev led all Blackhawks forwards in shorthanded time on ice at 2:38 per game — a figure that tied new teammate Anthony Cirelli for sixth among regular NHL forwards. He was one of only seven forwards leaguewide to log at least 200 minutes of penalty kill work. Chicago’s unit ranked second in the NHL at 83.6%.
“My whole life, all my career, I’ve played on the PK, and I feel comfortable. It’s more the experience side and of course what kind of system we play,” Mikheyev said. “Because I played in Chicago the last two years…I think it’s similar to the PK stuff, and I think it’s no problem for me with the Lightning with this system…I feel pretty good on the PK, and I feel comfortable.”
Mikheyev’s skating ability is the engine behind his penalty kill deployment. He recorded a max skating speed of 23.54 mph last season, logged 182 bursts of at least 20 mph and surpassed 22 mph a dozen times. Before Chicago, the Omsk, Russia, native played two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and started his NHL career with three seasons as a Toronto Maple Leaf after making the jump from the KHL in 2019.
“I liked Tampa when I played in Toronto, and it’s always hard to play against (them),” Mikheyev said. “When we had this opportunity to sign with Tampa, we took it because we loved the hockey, everything with the city, and we’re excited to be and play in Tampa.”
The chance to skate alongside fellow Russian star Nikita Kucherov factored into his decision. “I’m pretty excited…Those types of players, you should just look and try your best because there’s not many players like Kuch in the NHL. When you have the opportunity to practice and play with him, you should learn. It doesn’t matter how old you are,” Mikheyev said.
Mikheyev sits two goals shy of 100 in the NHL with 201 points across 427 career games. He described himself as ready for whatever role the Lightning need. “I can play everywhere,” he said. “In any situation it feels good, and of course I feel good on the PK for sure. For me, I just help the team be better in all situations.” Tampa Bay opens training camp in September.