Roman Kantserov terminates KHL contract, opening door to signing with Blackhawks

Posted May 08, 2026 11:02 am

By Scott Powers

Roman Kantserov took the first steps Friday toward signing with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kantserov, a 2023 second-round draft pick, confirmed to The Athletic that he has officially terminated his KHL contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, opening the door to signing an entry-level contract with the Blackhawks. Kantserov was on a two-year contract with Metallurg that was set to expire in June. The 21-year-old forward said he hopes to negotiate a contract with the Blackhawks soon.

Kantserov is eligible to sign a three-year NHL entry-level deal because he won’t turn 22 until Sept. 20. His entry-level deal is expected to include similar bonuses to a high draft pick.

The Blackhawks have hoped that Kantserov would leave the KHL after this season and join them for 2026-27, but they’ve also been reluctant to say too much publicly. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson talked about potential negotiations with Kantserov on Tuesday.

“Yeah, I think at some point over the next little while, hopefully we can kind of have those discussions and figure out where his head’s at, what he’s thinking,” Davidson said. “We’ve left him alone just to let him play out the season with Metallurg, so he did that, had a great season, nice playoff run, probably ended a little sooner than he would have wished obviously, but yeah, over the next couple weeks or so, hopefully we can chat with his representatives and kind of see what they’re thinking for next year.”

Whenever Kantserov does sign, he’s expected to jump immediately into the Blackhawks’ lineup. His game reached another level this past season as he became the first 21-year-old to lead the KHL in goals since Kirill Kaprizov in 2018-19. He also set new KHL records for an under-23 player with 36 goals and 64 points. Metallurg’s season recently ended in the playoffs.

Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said recently he has kept tabs on Kantserov throughout the season.

“When I’ve watched Kantserov, he’s very high intelligence, very good with the puck, very accountable defensively as well,” Blashill said in April. “Looks like a guy who has a great give-and-go game, is really smart. I think he can be a big-impact guy, and he’s also got a lot of experience. He’s got, I think, three years of KHL experience, in which he led the league in goal scoring this year. He’s a guy I think can make an immediate impact if he chooses to come over.”