Blackhawks News & Rumors: Pridham, Mikheyev, Bedard Contract Updates & More

The calendar has officially flipped to June, which means we’re that much closer to the NHL Entry Draft (June 26 & 27) and the start of free agency (July 1). Things in the hockey world will be starting to pick up this month in preparation for these events.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, they traded a prospect all due to an interesting new rule. Plus, they’re working hard on a new contract for pending restricted free agent (RFA) and face of the franchise Connor Bedard. Meanwhile, there’s some controversy surrounding negotiations for pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) Ilya Mikheyev. Finally, we have a health update on veteran forward Teuvo Teravainen, and the Blackhawks bid farewell to a former Blackhawks’ legend.

Let’s get to the latest news and rumors.  

Blackhawks Trade Prospect Jack Pridham to Lightning

In some interesting news on Monday (June 1), the Blackhawks announced a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The rights to forward prospect Jack Pridham will go to the Lightning, in exchange for a third round pick in 2027. The Lightning actually gave a little more context to the transaction on X than the Blackhawks did.

We’ve acquired the rights to forward Jack Pridham from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Pridham is committed to play in the NCAA next season with the school expected to be announced in the coming days.

🗞️ https://t.co/LOtdOPx7YJ pic.twitter.com/HPAsZvYo83

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 1, 2026

Selected in the third round (92^nd overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks, Pridham de-committed from Boston University last year in favor of returning to the OHL Kitchener Rangers for a second season. Because of this, he either had to commit to a college by June 1 of this year or sign an entry level contract with the Blackhawks. Otherwise, he would renter the draft. All signs pointed towards Pridham reentering the draft, until this trade emerged.

Pridham highly exceeded expectations this year, amassing 46 goals and 90 points in 65 games as the OHL’s second-leading scorer during the regular season. He then went on to tally two goals and 17 points in 18 playoff games, helping the Rangers punch their ticket to the Memorial Cup, a tournament that determines the ultimate major junior champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). There, Pridham continued his strong run, contributing five goals and nine points in four games.

26 seconds into the third! #Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham scores on a 5-on-3 🅿️🅿️ to make it 4-1 @OHLRangers! #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/DajrL7L93U

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 1, 2026

Despite Pridham raising his value this season, the Blackhawks were not ready to sign the 20-year-old. General manager Kyle Davidson has built a very strong prospect pool, with many players ahead of Pridham on the depth chart. The young prospect would have been competing for a spot with many others. He will likely have better options with the Lightning in the long run.

Meanwhile, Davidson has basically gotten an even return (a 2027 third round pick for a 2024 third round pick) instead of losing Pridham for nothing if he had reentered the draft. A nice piece of work by the Blackhawks’ GM.

League Unhappy With Blackhawks “Shopping” Mikheyev

Moving on, Elliotte Friedman indicated in his latest “32 Thoughts” podcast that the league isn’t happy with the Blackhawks for UFA Mikheyev. The team reportedly made Mikheyev a contract extension offer, but so far he’s turned it down. Scott Powers of The Athletic said he believed the offer was in the $4.75 million range, with two to three years of term (from ‘Where things stand between Blackhawks, Ilya Mikeheyev: Interest and pragmatism’, The AthleticCHI – 5/20/2026).

But the 31-year-old and his agent felt they could get more on the open market. After all, this might his last chance to cash in on a big NHL contract. So the Blackhawks let it be known across the league that his rights were available for trade if any team wanted to talk to him ahead of free agency.

Apparently, this verges on tampering. Teams and free agents aren’t supposed to be having these kinds of discussions before it’s allowed on July 1. In response to this, the league sent a memo to all the NHL teams reminding them that tampering fines can be up to $5 million.

It seems fair that the Blackhawks are letting Mikheyev look at all his options, and I’m sure these talks happen all the time. But apparently the Blackhawks “crossed the line” by being so open about it. Evidently the league was none too happy when they felt Nick Foligno recruited Tyler Bertuzzi before free agency back in 2024. Either way, if the Blackhawks were going to be fined it likely would have happened already.

I guess they can consider their hands slapped.

Teravainen Health Update

Powers of The Athletic also wrote recently that Blackhawks’ winger Teravainen suffered from a broken finger while playing for Team Finland in this year’s World Championships (from ‘What I’m hearing about the Blackhawks: Trading draft picks and expiring contract rights’, The AthleticCHI – 5/28/2026).

Teravainen was injured in Finland’s opening game versus Germany, but not before he registered two primary assists on the team’s first two goals. It’s certainly unfortunate for the Blackhawks’ forward, as Team Finland went on to win the gold medal in this tournament.

Leijonien kokoonpano päivittyy: Teräväisen kisat ohi, Erholtzin passiin leima.

Lue lisää: https://t.co/P3sRnwZ4ib#Leijonat #MMkisat pic.twitter.com/8QJI8JfTY8

— Leijonat.fi (@leijonat) May 16, 2026

Surgery was required on Teravainen’s finger, and his recovery time is expected to be four-to-six weeks. Fortunately, this shouldn’t cut too much into his offseason training. While the 31-year-old veteran didn’t have the best 2025-26 season with the Blackhawks, his contributions on the power play and the penalty kill can still be commended. The hope is Teravainen will have a bounce back 2026-27 campaign.

Bedard Contract Negotiations

Meanwhile, everyone is waiting for the Blackhawks and young superstar Bedard to get a contract signed. It’s arguably one of the most anticipated contract extensions coming this offseason. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported on a recent episode of “First Up” that Bedard and the Blackhawks are finally getting down to the dirty details, and that this could be finalized at some point this month.

Obviously, it’s in the Blackhawks’ best interest to get their superstar and face of the franchise locked in. Most pundits believe this will be a long-term contract (players can still sign eight-year deals until Sept. 15, 2026), and that it could be somewhere in the range of a $12 to $15 million annual cap hit.  

At exit interviews in April Bedard said, “At the end of the day, just seeing what fits the team best, what fits me best, and just going from there kind of thing. I’m very open to however they see it, and what they have to say.”

For his part, Blackhawks’ GM Davidson wants to pay Bedard his due, but he also wants to build a championship roster that can be competitive for years to come.

I think it probably goes more to the larger cap puzzle that we’re trying to build and remain competitive within the marketplace. In the end, there’s only so many dollars to go around. You want to build a deep team. You want to build a team that you feel is a championship roster, which is why we do this. And so we want to get it right, and you want to make sure that both sides feel like there’s common ground there…certainly we want to make sure that we’re more than fair, while also understanding that there is a finite amount of money to go around to spend on our roster again, while being fair to a very good, elite young player.

It’s Davidson’s job to make sure he can build around Bedard for the entire length of his contract, and it sounds like Bedard understands he’s just one piece of the puzzle. Granted, he’s a big piece; but just one piece nonetheless. It takes a team to win hockey championships, and Bedard wants to win. It appears he’s willing to work with the organization to ensure there’s plenty of money, and talent, to go around.

Whatever Bedard and the Blackhawks decide upon, it sounds like an agreement will be coming soon.  

Blackhawks’ Legend Dennis Hull Dies at 81

In some unfortunate news, the Blackhawks announced on Saturday (May 30) that former Blackhawks’ forward Dennis Hull died at the age of 81. Hull played for 13 seasons with the Blackhawks, from 1964 to 1977. He recorded 298 goals and 640 points in 904 games with the franchise, including a record 90 points in the 1972-72 campaign. He also contributed 33 goals and 67 points in 97 playoff games.

on behalf of the Wirtz family and Chicago Blackhawks organization, we mourn the passing of Dennis Hull❤️

we extend our deepest condolences to the Hull family during this time.https://t.co/oafhCuX63g pic.twitter.com/ZptDCBfGfS

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) May 31, 2026

Said Blackhawks’ Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz,

Known around the league for his immense skill, toughness and intelligence, Dennis was as dominant on the ice as he was beloved off it. He often drew on his sharp wit and sense of humor to keep the locker room loose, while his warmth and humility made everyone he met feel welcome.

Hull was often in the shadow of his more famous older brother, Bobby, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 84. While Bobby was nicknamed “The Golden Jet”, Dennis was often referred to as “The Silver Jet”. The two brothers actually enjoyed playing together with the Blackhawks for eight seasons (from 1964-1972).

That’ll do it for this edition of Blackhawks News and Rumors. The offseason is ramping up in what should be an excited draft and free agency ahead of the 2026-27 campaign. Be sure to keep it here at The Hockey Writers for all the latest news, analysis and updates surrounding the Blackhawks.