Maple Leafs finally manage to sign Mikheyev!

The Toronto Maple Leafs have managed to avoid arbitration, agreeing to terms with Ilya Mikheyev on a two-year contract extension, according to his agent Dan Milstein. 

The arbitration meeting was schedule for tomorrow. 

His two-year extension comes with a $1.645M AAV.

Elliotte Friedman had recently reported that the restricted free agent had gone into salary arbitration hearings with the Maple Leafs demanding a $2.7 million annual salary. Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas was believed to have countered at just $1 million per season.

Finally, they met sorta half-way. 

The 26-year-old Russian did look impressive in his first NHL season, but the fact of the matter is that he only managed to play 39 games due to injury. His eight goals and 23 points in that span is impressive. He however failed to register a point during the club’s five-game playoff qualification series versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This will please fans to get the Soup man back, however, they won't soon forget that the Leafs are in a SERIOUS cap crunch. If this situation had gone in arbitration, it could have ended badly. 

However, it is clear that there is a special bond between Mikheyev and Dubas. The general manager spent days with his player just hanging out and caring for him after he suffered a gruesome injury during a horrible hockey accident when his wrist was sliced open by an opponent’s skate blade. That December wrist injury stalled his momentum and fans are now hoping that with this new deal in hand, Mikheyev will produce!