The Chicago Blackhawks and restricted free agent Mark McNeill have agreed to a one-year contract, the team announced Friday. McNeill became an RFA this summer when the Hawks extended him a qualifying offer in late June, which gave them the right to match any offer sheet he signed.
There were rumors earlier in the summer that the Hawks were ready to trade McNeill, a 2011 first-round pick, but that hasn't come to pass. At age 23, McNeill is beginning to creep toward tweener status as a prospect. The Hawks have regularly chosen to play other young forwards over the past couple years and don't seem to be trumping him up as part of the future.