Blackhawks Testing the Market on Ilya Mikheyev’s Rights

Chicago is at least kicking the tires on Ilya Mikheyev’s rights, which is the kind of quiet front-office move that usually says more than it sounds like. The Blackhawks are looking at their options, and that means somebody in the room thinks there may be a path to value before anything gets too expensive or too public. This is the sort of transaction that rarely makes the highlight reel, but it can still tell you plenty about where a team thinks it is in the build.