One of the moves that may have gone overlooked late in the season was the Chicago Blackhawks signing of undrafted college free agent Mike Hardman to an entry-level contract after Boston College was eliminated from the NCAA tournament. The 22-year-old forward managed to get into eight games with the team down the stretch and immediately made an impact with his full-throttle playstyle, scoring a goal and three points. Now, with a year remaining on his entry-level deal, the Blackhawks have decided to lock him up.
Chicago has signed Hardman to a two-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season. The deal will carry an average annual value of $800K. PuckPedia reports that it is one-way, and will pay Hardman $750K in 2021-22 and $850K in 2022-23. That means the young forward will be an inexpensive option for the next three years even if he finds a full-time role on the team right away.
That role certainly isn’t guaranteed, given how many forwards the Blackhawks have brought in to compete for spots. Tyler Johnson, Brett Connolly, Henrik Borgstrom, Adam Gaudette, and Jujhar Khaira have all been added since the trade deadline. Captain Jonathan Toews and young star Kirby Dach are returning from seasons ruined by illness and injury, while even Alexander Nylander will be in competition after missing the entire 2020-21 campaign.
That’s quite the crowded field for Hardman to crack, and given he is still waiver-exempt he may have to start off with some games in the minor leagues. But he’s not there to play for a contract anymore, that part of his professional life has been dealt with early. The undrafted 6’2″ winger is now a part of the Blackhawks organization for the next several seasons, so he can focus entirely on his on-ice performance.
Excellent depth piece and hockey IQ. Nice job Hawks.
Oh, good…it’ll be another three before I feel compelled to make the terrible “Mike Hardman is good to sign” joke.