Overview
- The Blackhawks, reported Monday by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, made pending UFA Ilya Mikheyev’s negotiating rights available for trade.
- A rights trade gives one team an early, exclusive window to negotiate before July 1 in exchange for a small draft pick.
- Extension talks in Chicago stalled, and GM Kyle Davidson is trying to bank a late-round asset instead of letting him walk.
- Mikheyev, 31, produced 18 goals and 36 points this season and anchored a penalty kill that finished second in the league.
- Possible paths now include a modest pick for early negotiating rights or a run at a bigger deal in a thin July market.