The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed unrestricted free agent forward Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year contract featuring an averaging annual value of $3.85 million.
The Lightning also added depth forward Jeffrey Viel, signing him to a five-year, $12.5 million contract with an AAV of $2.5 million.
Mikheyev, 31, had 18 goals and 36 points in 77 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season.
The 6-foot-2 winger is coming off a four-year, $19 million contract that carried a cap hit of $4.04 million.
Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019, Mikheyev has 98 goals and 201 points in 427 career games split between the Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Blackhawks.
The Omsk, Russia native represented his country at the 2018 World Hockey Championship in a sixth-place finish.
Viel, 29, split the 2025-26 season between the Boston Bruins and Anaheim Ducks.
He did not record a point in 10 games with the Bruins. In Anaheim, he scored three goals with 10 points in 35 games.
In the playoffs, he scored two goals with four points in 12 games as the Ducks were eliminated in the second round by the Vegas Golden Knights.
He is coming off a two-year, $1.55 million contract.
The Rimouski, Que., native has skated in 99 career NHL games, scoring six goals with 15 points, split between the San Jose Sharks, Bruins and Ducks.
