Old-school methods would have worked better than modern technology for young Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel on Friday in Washington.
Reichel forgot to bring his phone charger on the one-day trip, and his phone battery died while he slept. With no alarm to rouse him, he missed the Hawks’ morning meeting and subsequently was scratched against the Capitals as punishment. A wakeup call from the front desk would’ve been wise, but he probably never has scheduled one of those in his nearly 23-year life so far.
‘‘I just wasn’t smart enough; I could’ve bought a charger or something, but I didn’t,’’ said Reichel, who assured interim coach Anders Sorensen it wouldn’t happen again.
He conceded he might be able to laugh about this dumb mistake down the road — ‘‘After the season, we’re going to talk about it when we have dinner together’’ — and he got back in the lineup for the Hawks’ 3-1 victory Sunday against the Penguins.
But that quote raises a more pertinent question: What will Reichel’s situation after the season look like?
In one sense, he already has his early summer planned out. He’s going home to Germany to see friends and family, then likely will play for Germany in the world championships (as he did in 2021, 2022 and 2024). His contract with the Hawks has another year left, so he’s not a pending restricted free agent, like he was last year.
In another sense, though, it isn’t guaranteed Reichel still will be with the Hawks next season. His name floated around in rumors before the trade deadline, and although the Hawks never came close to moving him then, that suggested they might not see him as a long-term piece any longer.
Plus, general manager Kyle Davidson likely will make some significant changes to the roster this summer, ideally bringing in some high-end talent while also reserving spots and playing time for prospects graduating into the NHL. Reichel might not match either description anymore.
Davidson said before the season that he expected Reichel to ‘‘compete hard for a top-six spot,’’ but Reichel has spent all season on the fourth line instead. Perhaps Sorensen deserves some blame for not giving him more opportunities, but Reichel also hasn’t done enough to change Sorensen’s mind, particularly in the last few months.
Overall, Reichel’s 2024-25 season has been better than his extremely disappointing 2023-24 season, but it hasn’t been that much better. He has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 67 games, up from 14 points in 65 games last season — although his average ice time has declined from roughly 14 minutes per game last season to roughly 12 minutes this season.
His analytics are similar across the two seasons. He has attempted slightly fewer shots (from 8.64 to 8.32 per 60 minutes) and generated slightly more scoring chances (from 4.90 to 5.06) during five-on-five play.
The Hawks have been outscored 27-21 during his ice time — a more respectable differential than 42-17 last season — but their expected-goals ratio has improved only marginally, going from 36.7% to 40.1%. He still ranks third-to-last on the team in that category.
It’s worth noting many of Reichel’s so-called ‘‘microstats’’ have improved substantially, according to All Three Zones. His offensive contributions have risen from atrocious to nearly league-average, and his speed has made him elite at offensive-zone entries.
‘‘He’s done some good things off the rush,’’ Sorensen said Saturday. ‘‘I think everybody sees that. I would like to see him a little bit more on the forecheck, creating and disturbing plays that way.
‘‘[He’s a] young player that’s still learning. [It’s a] tough situation sometimes when you don’t get the minutes you want, but that’s a learning curve, too. When you’re only playing certain minutes, you have to make sure you do certain things.’’
Reichel described his season as ‘‘up-and-down.’’ He’s proud of his improvements on rushes. Instead of skating directly to the net every time, he now knows when to cut back, hit a trailing option, etc. He’s also proud of learning how to navigate adversity better.
‘‘I feel better now if I go through games that I didn’t feel good,’’ Reichel said. ‘‘I try to stay positive always, just keep working, never give up, learn from it and try to use that for the future, for this year and for my career.’’
Is Reichel’s rate of growth, however, high enough to suggest he still could become a top-six forward at some point? Or is the former 17th overall pick nearing a lower-than-projected ceiling as an NHL player but not a high-impact one?
How much patience do the Hawks have left for Reichel, especially considering Davidson wasn’t the GM who drafted him? Will they more seriously consider trade discussions this summer? Or will they give Reichel the duration of his contract to prove himself?
Those are all questions with unclear answers that might become clearer this summer.