NHL issues memo on major tampering scandal involving original six team: Gary Bettman and the Blackhawks
Ilya Mikheyev and Jeff Blashill are now tied to an NHL warning after Chicago crossed a line in trade talks.
The league issued a memo after the Blackhawks explored a move involving Mikheyev, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent. What raised flags was not the trade call itself.
According to Elliotte Friedman, Chicago's pitch went a step too far when it opened the door to future contract discussions with other clubs while Mikheyev was still under contract.
That detail is what put the Blackhawks in the league's sights. Teams can move a player's rights, but the NHL drew a hard line at letting that player talk extension terms elsewhere before free agency opens.
Chicago didn't get hit with a public penalty here, but the memo made it clear the league wanted every front office to hear the message.
The line Chicago could not cross
That old interview window no longer exists, and the NHL is treating any attempt to work around that rule as tampering. For a rebuilding club like Chicago, that is the kind of spotlight it did not need.
Friedman also spelled out why the memo mattered beyond one trade discussion.
"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."
That's the real story. The Blackhawks look like the warning shot, and the next team that tests this boundary may not get off with just a memo.
For Chicago, the offseason just got a little tighter. Every move involving Mikheyev now carries more attention than the club wanted.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 27, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| Jakub Dobes | - | - | - | |
| Noah Dobson | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||