Chicago Blackhawks in NHL free agency: Forward Ilya Mikheyev leaves for Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL free agency has begun.
The Chicago Blackhawks are looking to add players and reshape their roster amid heightened pressure to win in 2026-27. Here are the latest signings, trades and rumors around the team.
Veteran Ilya Mikheyev signs with Tampa Bay Lightning
Veteran right wing Ilya Mikheyev signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, per agent Dan Milstein, ending his two-season run with the Hawks. Mikheyev, 31, is another 30-plus-year-old player to leave the team, joining Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy, all of whom were traded at the deadline last season.
General manager Kyle Davidson chose to keep Mikheyev at the March 6 trade deadline, saying he hoped the Omsk, Russia, native would stay for the near future while younger players develop. The sides were unable to agree to a deal, and Mikheyev will take his penalty-kill excellence to the Lightning.
Led by Mikheyev, the Hawks finished last season with the league’s second-best kill. His aggressiveness on the puck helped keep opponents out of the offensive zone.
New faces will have to pick up the slack in the veteran’s absence. Newly signed Cole Smith could be that player — he spent an average of 1:54 per game on the penalty kill last season for the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights.
Mikheyev registered a career-high 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) in 77 games last season and averaged 17:26 of ice time with a plus-2 rating.
Mikheyev came to the Hawks with forward Sam Lafferty in a June 2024 trade with the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he also played for two years. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who signed him as a free agent in 2019 after he went undrafted.
Blackhawks sign right wing Cole Smith to 3-year deal
Cole Smith, 30, signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Hawks on Wednesday for the team’s first deal in free agency. The undrafted forward had 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 63 games with the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights in 2025-26, his sixth NHL season. He has 25 goals and 39 assists in 292 career games.
Veteran defenseman Ian Cole signs 1-year deal with Blackhawks
Ian Cole on Wednesday signed a one-year, $4 million contract to join the Hawks’ defenseman core. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native spent the last two seasons with the Utah Mammoth, playing 82 games in both.
The addition of Cole, 37, brings a veteran voice to the Hawks locker room. He has 223 points (38 goals, 195 assists) with a plus-168 rating, 1,834 blocked shots and 1,253 hits across 990 career games with nine teams.
Blackhawks reportedly add defenseman to IceHogs
Defenseman Dylan Anhorn, 27, reportedly will join the Rockford IceHogs on a one-year, $850,000 deal. He played 95 total games over the last two-plus seasons with the Manitoba Moose in the Winnipeg Jets system, registering 34 points (six goals, 28 assists).
NHL Network’s Elliotte Friedman first reported the news.