OTTAWA — Blackhawks prospect John Hayden is expected to make his NHL debut on Thursday night.
The question is whether he’ll be heard from again after Thursday.
Hayden is in the NHL with the Blackhawks now because of the way he negotiated his contract. He held a bargaining chip because he was a college senior, possesses NHL potential and could have opted for free agency if he waited until Aug. 15. The Blackhawks were willing to burn this season of his contract in order to get a deal done.
For Hayden, the positives of working out the contract that way was he’ll get to a second contract sooner and will now be given an NHL opportunity immediately.