Report: Chicago Blackhawks sign Henrik Borgtröm to two-year contract

The Chicago Blackhawks have reportedly signed a key piece of a deadline deal to a two-year contract.

According to The Athletic’s Scott Powers, the team has inked Henrik Borgtröm to that deal. Details of the contract have yet to be reported.

Borgtröm was acquired by Chicago in an April 8 trade that saw the team leverage their cap space to acquire him.

This past year Borgtröm didn’t play in the NHL, but rather for HIFK in the Finnish elite league. There, he scored 11 goals and 21 points in 30 games.

“I noticed Henrik quite a bit when we had Ian Mitchell and Blake Hillman at Denver,” Blackhawks president of hockey operations and general manager Stan Bowman said on April 8. “I was going to scout those guys frequently back then, and any time you would watch Denver play those days, Henrik was a dominant college player. One of the best college players I’ve seen the last 10 years. Really high-end skill. He did it all in college. He seemed destined for greatness in the NHL. It didn’t happen right away for him. Sometimes that’s the case for young players: there’s an adaptation to the NHL. He had a pretty good season in the AHL and then last year never really found his way there.

“When you look at his best game, it’s pretty impressive. This year, we’ve been watching him play in Finland and his skill set is very noticeable. He’s a big, tall kid, long arms, good reach. He’s got the frame, athletic body, skater, hands and he can do a lot of different things with the puck. There’s tremendous upside. Obviously, he has to turn that potential into reality. But he’s the kind of player you get excited to work with and we certainly want to do that next season.”

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.