Broken NHL system leads to tampering accusations for Original Six team
Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
The National Hockey League just told all 32 clubs what they cannot do with pending UFAs. Chicago took the fall.
Elliotte Friedman revealed on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Chicago Blackhawks triggered a league-wide memo after their handling of Ilya Mikheyev's negotiating rights crossed a line.
The problem was not that Chicago made Mikheyev available for trade. The issue was suggesting he could talk to other teams, test the market, and circle back if nothing materialized.
The NHL shut that down immediately. The league reminded every front office that allowing a pending unrestricted free agent to speak with other organizations before his rights are formally traded is a tampering violation.
The situation initially came to light in 2025 as seen in the X post below.
Fines can reach $5 million. Suspensions and forfeiture of draft picks are also on the table.
The Blackhawks escaped with a warning, but the message was aimed at every general manager in the league.
"They made him available for trade and one of the things that was part of that conversation was Chicago was looking at it like 'If he goes out there and he doesn't find what he likes, maybe he will circle back and we will be able to find our own common ground,'" revealed Friedman.
"The league sent a memo out basically saying 'That is not allowed' and the reason they are saying it's not allowed is a few years ago there used to be an interview period... and you could talk to any UFA however you could not sign them until the free agency period started," said Friedman. "Eventually that went away and the league's point is, that's gone and you can't do that."
Permission for a UFA to talk to other teams is a no no and what they did as part of this is remind everybody about tampering fines," said Friedman.
"The fine for tampering can be up to $5 million and people can be suspended and you could lose draft picks. That's what they did here."
- Elliotte Friedman
"The league sent a memo out basically saying 'That is not allowed' and the reason they are saying it's not allowed is a few years ago there used to be an interview period... and you could talk to any UFA however you could not sign them until the free agency period started," said Friedman. "Eventually that went away and the league's point is, that's gone and you can't do that."
Permission for a UFA to talk to other teams is a no no and what they did as part of this is remind everybody about tampering fines," said Friedman.
"The fine for tampering can be up to $5 million and people can be suspended and you could lose draft picks. That's what they did here."
- Elliotte Friedman
The system Chicago tried to work around
Friedman noted the NHL hinted it would like to bring back the old UFA interview period eliminated years ago.
That window once allowed teams to speak with pending free agents without committing to a trade.
The NHLPA has blocked its return. That tension between the league wanting a formal process and the players' union resisting one is the real story underneath the Blackhawks situation.
Why this matters beyond one team
Chicago was essentially doing informally what the NHL wants to formalize. Kyle Davidson tried to give Mikheyev a chance to gauge the market before July 1 without giving his rights away for a late-round pick.
That impulse is not reckless. It is a rational response to a system that forces teams to trade UFA rights blind.
The next team that tests this boundary will not get off with a memo. That is the only guarantee coming out of this situation.
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