Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev was seen on the ice Monday morning with the team's skating consultant, Barb Underhill. Mikheyev has been out of the lineup since he had an artery and tendons in his right wrist cut by a skate blade back on December 27th. Shortly after the injury, doctors gave him a 90-day recovery period.
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Mikheyev, who signed a one-year deal with the Leafs this past offseason, is experiencing hockey in North America for the first time after spending his first four seasons as a pro in the KHL. He has been a nice add for Toronto with 23 points in his first 39 career games.
Based off of his original 90-day timeline, it would seem Mikheyev still has ways to go before returning to the lineup. However, the fact that he is back skating shows progress is being made, and perhaps he will be able to return sooner than thought. The Leafs could certainly use him, as they are in a bigtime dog fight for a playoff spot. They were unable to give themselves a little more breathing room with a disappointing overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. As a result, they sit just three points ahead of the Florida Panthers for third place in the Atlantic Division, with Florida having two games in hand.
