Final summer time, Blackhawks ahead Lukas Reichel was a speculative commerce candidate however he wound up signing a low-cost, two-year bridge deal to stay with Chicago. However after the primary 12 months of that contract didn’t go properly, the commerce hypothesis is again. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that curiosity in Reichel has began to select up in current days with groups viewing him as extra of a secondary goal at this level.
The 23-year-old was a first-round decide by Chicago again in 2020, going seventeenth total after taking part in properly with Eisbaren Berlin within the German males’s league when he had 24 factors in 48 video games. That improved to 27 factors in 38 outings the next season earlier than Reichel got here to play in North America.
Reichel spent the majority of the primary season of his entry-level cope with AHL Rockford and was fairly productive, tallying 21 objectives and 36 assists in 56 video games whereas additionally stepping into 11 video games with the Blackhawks. The next 12 months in 2022-23, he was equally productive with the IceHogs, notching 20 objectives and 31 helpers in 55 contests, incomes him an extended look with the massive membership the place he obtained into 23 video games, accumulating 15 factors. It seemed like he was prepared for full-time NHL responsibility.
However the 2023-24 marketing campaign was a tricky one for Reichel. He struggled with Chicago, scoring simply 5 objectives together with 11 assists in 65 video games whereas his possession numbers took a tumble as properly. He was extra productive with eight factors in a ten-game stint in Rockford however at this level, there have been questions on his longer-term match within the group with the Blackhawks having one of many deepest pipelines within the NHL.
These questions nonetheless stay after this season, one which noticed Reichel solely barely enhance offensively with eight objectives and 14 assists in 70 video games whereas seeing his ice time drop to under 12 minutes an evening, a career-low. With a number of prospects within the pipeline that might profit from an additional roster spot to attempt to compete for, it’s comprehensible to assume that Chicago might make Reichel accessible this summer time.
In fact, with how issues have gone the final two seasons, commerce presents aren’t going to be anyplace close to the extent of the first-rounder they used on Reichel previously. However with an reasonably priced contract at $1.2M, he’s the kind of buy-low candidate that some rebuilding groups will wish to take an opportunity on to see if a change of surroundings may also help get him going. Whether or not that ends in a commerce later at the moment within the draft or afterward in the summertime as soon as the mud settles stays to be seen however it actually looks like there’s a great likelihood that Reichel might be on the transfer this offseason.
