The Chicago Blackhawks are in the midst of a rebuild, but the team is getting some trade calls on a young forward.
Although the Blackhawks are hoping to build around their young forwards, they could trade one. NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that Chicago is getting trade calls on Lukas Reichel.
“Teams have been calling about Reichel and the Blackhawks have been listening. He’s going into the final year of his current contract and will remain controllable after this season. Chicago is looking to package assets for immediate upgrades, so we’ll see if Reichel is part of that,” Pagnotta wrote.
Reichel is just 23 and was selected 17th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks. Although his age fits in nicely with the young group, he hasn’t been able to produce as much offensively as he was projected.
Reichel had just 8 goals and 14 assists for 22 points last season with the Blackhawks, which were his career-highs. However, he was once a highly-touted prospect, so perhaps a change of scenery is needed.
He has one year left on his two-year, $2.4 million deal.
Reichel Frustrated With Role With Blackhawks
Although Chicago picked Reichel in the first round, he hasn’t been able to be a top-six forward with the Blackhawks.
Instead, Reichel spent most of the year on the fourth line and did not get many minutes, which was frustrating for him.
“I didn’t get many minutes, I was fourth line most of the year,” Reichel said in his end-of-year media scrum. “So, it’s different, it’s harder to produce and score. I try to stay positive and make the little things right. Just battle hard and grind. I’m happy about that with how I played.”
Although Reichel didn’t get a ton of ice time this past season, he does believe he can earn a top-six role next season.
“Camp is going to be huge for me and in the season, too. Guys are going to go up and down the line in the season. Yeah, there is always hope that I will get the opportunity (to be in the top-six),” Reichel added.
Reichel says he will use the summer to work on his game and look to earn a top-six role with the Blackhawks next season.
Reichel was named to Germany’s Olympic team for 2026.
Blackhawks GM Hoping Young Players Step Up
Chicago is in the midst of a rebuild, and Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson is hopeful the young players take another step next season.
The Blackhawks had a relatively quiet offseason and Davidson said that was because they are hoping the young players can take on bigger roles.
“We’re heading into a new stage where we’re starting to see and we’re leaving open spots in the NHL for some of these young players that we have drafted and have developed to enter the NHL and start making up a larger or large, depending on the point of the year, portion of the roster,” Davidson said. “So I think we’re seeing them graduate. We’ve seen some of them graduate to pro now we’ll see some of them graduate into the NHL and into the NHL full time.
The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs in five straight years.
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