Vancouver's Biggest Offseason Signing Just Got Leveled and Left the Game

In the second of two split-squad games between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames, defenseman Nicolas Meloche crunched Canucks' forward Ilya Mikheyev in the corner. Mikheyev left the game and would not return; he was visibly wincing afterwards.


Vancouver signed the Russian forward to a four-year, $19 million dollar deal during July's free agent frenzy. In 146 games for Toronto, Mikheyev scored 72 points, fresh off of his first 20-goal campaign. He projects to play in Vancouver's top-nine, the question was always: where?

Hopefully, this is just a short-term ordeal and Mikheyev is able to start the season without skipping a beat. Preseason injuries have to be one of the worst possible trials an athlete can face.