Let's pump the brakes on trading Ilya Mikheyev
So, last night was great! The Leafs soundly beat Ottawa by a score of 6-0 in their return from their Christmas/COVID holiday.
It's easy to look good in a 6-0 win. It's not easy to outshine stars like Tavares, Matthews and Marner in only your 2nd game of the season. Ilya Mikheyev did just that last night.
There was a lot of talk in the off-season about Mikheyev after he requested a trade out of Toronto. He wanted a bigger role and more opportunity. Kyle Dubas told him to sit tight, that opportunity was coming. Unfortunately the injury bug struck during the pre-season and we didn't see him for a while and he only snuck into one game in before the season was put on hold.
Mikheyev became a new favourite trade chip of Leafs fans. The thought process being that he had to be shipped off to make cap room and the return didn't matter much, a couple mid round picks maybe. Well, we should forget about all of that.
Last night, Mikheyev looked like a player who was desperate to play hockey and desperate to show he deserves a bigger role. "Souperman" AKA "Cobra" was beating Sens defenders all night, turning pucks over and creating chances and forechecking like a man possessed.
Mikheyev's speed was on full display as in the first period, when burned past the Sens' defense while on the penalty kill, scoring a shorthanded breakaway goal to put the Leafs up 2-0.
Mikheyev struck again when presented with an opportunity to jump on the second PP unit where he made no mistake, burying his second of the game off of a slick pass from linemate Ondrej Kase.
If this is the Ilya Mikheyev we're going to get this season, I see absolutely no reason to move him. Let him get up to speed playing in the middle six, then ramp up his responsibilities. At this point, he is head and shoulders above Ritchie and Engvall. If there is a move that needs to be made, I'd much rather see one of them go.
Mikheyev has been a fan-favourite in Toronto since first coming over from Russia, endearing himself to Leafs Nation by showing his enthusiasm for the game, and declaring his love for soup during his first interview.
In 95 games as a Leaf, Mikheyev has registered 42 points, but that number could be exponentially larger were it not for a snakebitten 2020-21 season, during which the Russian winger found himself with several grade A scoring chances that he just couldn't seem to convert on.
