Ilya Mikheyev situation says more about the Blackhawks than the player himself

The Chicago Blackhawks have gotten themselves in some preemptive hot water with the NHL. As Elliotte Friedman reported in Friday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, the league issued a league-wide memo cautioning teams not to break tampering rules, particularly in connection with the Ilya Mikheyev situation.

The Blackhawks made a public spectacle regarding the availability of the impending UFAs rights leading up to the July 1 opening of NHL free agency. From now until June 30, Mikheyev technically remains under contract with Chicago. That’s why any attempt to contact him or his representation is considered tampering.

And it’s a situation that says more about the Blackhawks than the player himself. It’s about the Blackhawks trying to salvage something for a player they know they will lose for nothing if the organization lets him walk.

For Mikheyev, well, there’s really no other choice. The club has pretty much made it clear there is no room for him. With the pipeline flush with young players, there’s just no room for Mikheyev. He’s far more expensive than the team would like, plus he’d take up a roster spot that could go to someone like Anton Frondell next season.

But it’s also a bad way to conduct business. It sends a negative message to would-be free agents who might consider the Blackhawks as a potential destination.

The message to veterans is that they’re expendable. And their time with the team will depend on the prospects coming up through the system.

Let’s put it this way: It’s one thing to let an employee go when their contract is up. It’s another thing to rub it into that employee that there’s someone else who can take their place. And it’s another thing entirely to let the entire company know about the entire situation.

Why not just let an employee walk away without making a public spectacle of it? Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, this entire episode will leave the organization with negative optics (as if it needed any more of that).

Mikheyev won’t ultimately mind. He’ll get another contract. In fact, the 31-year-old is sure to get one more multi-year deal. Various clubs out there could use a player with his skills and talents.

Blackhawks could be in NHL’s sights

The Blackhawks may be in the NHL’s sights this season. In 2024, the league put the club on notice after Tyler Bertuzzi’s slip.

That offseason, Bertuzzi signed a four-year free-agent deal in Chicago. During his first interviews post-signing, Bertuzzi mentioned in passing that then-captain Nick Foligno had called him on the phone to talk him into signing with the Blackhawks.

The league looked into and potentially saw an instance of tampering. Bertuzzi’s former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, didn’t make a huge deal out of it. So, that was the end of the situation.

However, there was some chatter around the league positing that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman took the parties involved into the corner and told them to cut it out. The league then reaffirmed its tampering guidelines in order to avoid any undue communication outside of approved negotiating windows.

That’s why, as Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope noted, this incident could be “strike two” for the Blackhawks. Hence, the seeming overreaction by the league. But when looking at the background on the matter, there’s reason for the league to get antsy about the situation.

The likeliest outcome is that Mikheyev will slide into free agency on July 1. Teams will want to avoid any unnecessary scrutiny by trading for the Russian winger’s rights.

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