The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed unrestricted free agent forward Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year contract, the team announced on July 1, 2026.
The deal carries an annual average value of $3.85 million, as confirmed by agent Dan Milstein.
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Mikheyev, 31, spent the 2025-26 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he recorded a career-high 36 points with 18 goals and 18 assists in 77 games.
That performance came in the final year of his previous four-year contract, originally signed with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022.
That deal carried a $4.75 million annual cap hit before being traded to Chicago in June 2024.
Versatile Forward Adds Speed and Penalty Killing
Standing at 6-foot-2 and hailing from Omsk, Russia, Mikheyev is known for his speed and versatility.
He served as a key penalty killer for the Blackhawks and played across multiple forward lines.
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Mikheyev entered the NHL as an undrafted free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019-20 season.
Over 427 career regular-season games, he has accumulated 98 goals and 103 assists for 201 points.
In 30 career playoff games split among Toronto, Vancouver, and Chicago, he has four points.
Before his NHL career, Mikheyev spent four seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League with Omsk Avangard and represented Russia at the 2018 World Hockey Championship.
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The Lightning now have approximately $9.3 million in remaining salary cap space, according to PuckPedia, as they aim to strengthen their roster after four consecutive first-round playoff exits.
