Lukas Reichel’s frustrating Blackhawks tenure has reached a quiet end.
After the Hawks’ umpteenth attempt to get Reichel clicking on their top line Thursday flamed out after just two periods, they traded him Friday to the Canucks for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick.
It marked an underwhelming, anticlimactic conclusion to the tenure of a player who — at one time, before the arrival of Connor Bedard — seemed to embody the future of the Hawks’ franchise.
The 17th overall pick from the 2020 draft now evidently holds the same value as a fourth-round pick, and that’s actually a higher round than the rumored offers the Hawks received for him this past summer.
Injuries have decimated the Canucks’ forward depth early this season, likely prompting them to push harder into trade negotiations. Their situation is so dire that Reichel might be asked to play center right off the bat. The Hawks will face the Canucks on Nov. 5, so they’ll see him again soon.
The fourth-round selection, meanwhile, is the Hawks’ own. They initially traded it for Ilya Mikheyev in June 2024 in a deal that has panned out very favorably for general manager Kyle Davidson.
In retrospect, both Reichel and the Hawks deserve some blame for his lack of progress after bursting on the scene with 15 points in 23 games in spring 2023, when the hype and anticipation around him reached its apex.
The Hawks probably moved him up and down between Rockford and Chicago too often in 2021-22 and 2022-23, then moved him up and down between the Hawks’ top-six lines and bottom-six lines too often in 2023-24.
In 2024-25, they finally let him establish a rhythm, but it was in a fourth-line role (alongside mentor Pat Maroon) that gave him little opportunity to grow. Davidson never seemed to harbor the same belief in or connection with Reichel that predecessor Stan Bowman did.
Reichel, meanwhile, probably didn’t work hard enough to improve during offseasons before 2025, nor was he proactive enough in 2023-24 to address his shattered confidence before it derailed his season. He didn’t arrive in Chicago with nearly as much maturity as someone like Frank Nazar.
Reichel’s natural talent has always been evident, and it will continue to be in Vancouver, which could represent a beneficial change of scenery. He is a remarkably smooth, fast, effortless skater.
The challenge for new Canucks coach Adam Foote will be teaching Reichel how to use that grace and speed in more productive ways against NHL competition, which is something no Hawks coach ever figured out. Reichel’s deficiencies in awareness, vision and hockey IQ may be critical weaknesses, things which Bowman overlooked in 2020.
“We like the way he moves on the ice and his overall work ethic, and [we] feel our coaching staff can help him become a better and more consistent hockey player,” Canucks GM Patrick Allvin said in a statement.
Reichel’s work ethic has indeed improved, as evidenced in his rejuvenated workout routine this past summer. Much of that occurred alongside Mammoth forward and fellow German Olympian JJ Peterka, who counts himself as one of many people who still believe in Reichel’s potential.
“I think he’ll make his way for sure at some point,” Peterka said earlier this month. “Because with so much skill, it’s almost impossible to not break through.
“In practice, he would get a little more rattled when we were younger, maybe a couple years ago. Just over the years, how much his game matured and gotten better is pretty cool to see.”
Reichel finishes his Hawks tenure with 58 points in 174 games, including four points in five games this season (three of which came in St. Louis last week).
His departure loosens the team’s forward roster crunch, giving rookie Ryan Greene a better chance of sticking in the NHL permanently.