While there is a lot to be excited about regarding the future of the Chicago Blackhawks with the likes of Connor Bedard, Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar and Spencer Knight although with such a young team they are certainly not ready to touch the playoff path just yet.
Another potential player who was expected to be a big factor in the team’s future plans was Lukas Reichel, the team’s 17th overall pick in 2020. The son of former NHLer Robert Reichel, he came into the system with a lot of hype and put up some very good numbers that have unfortunately not translated to much NHL success.
It’s hard to envision the team already giving up on somebody with such promise, one insider thinks otherwise.
According to Elliotte Friedman on his recent 32 Thoughts podcast, the Blackhawks are reportedly at the end of the line with Reichel and are ready to make a deal, with the player himself aware of the situation:
“I just think that it’s a name that’s out there; the Blackhawks are willing to make the move; the player understands it might be time too.”
Chicago’s loss may end up being someone else’s masseur gain however. If the team does decide to move on from Reichel, they end up missing out on someone who is a perennial 20-goal scorer albeit with some defensive lapses at times. Plus at only 23, there’s still a long time for him to grow into his own and become a reliable player.
Reichel had 22 ponts in 70 games last season for Chicago (8 goals, 14 assists) but only has 54 points in 169 career games (20 goals, 34 assists) and an unsightly minus-61 rating.
Still, there’s a lot of potential around Reichel and clearly Chicago saw something in him they valued to draft him ahead of names like Dawson Mercer, Connor Zary, JJ Peterka, and Alex Laferriere but in hindsight, perhaps the team would have drafted someone else.
So maybe that potential can be unlocked elsewhere because from the sounds of it, Chicago isn’t where it’s going to be.
