Lukas Reichel was one of the driving forces behind the Blackhawks’ surprising three-game win streak, the first-round pick immediately looked like one of the Blackhawks’ best players following his latest recall. He generated several good scoring chances in a win over Arizona; had a three-point night, including his first career goal, against Calgary; and was dynamic again in Thursday night’s win over Colorado.
And now he’s headed back to the AHL.
The Blackhawks demoted Reichel to Rockford on Friday to clear room for Patrick Kane, who is expected to return to the lineup Saturday against the Seattle Kraken after missing the last three games (and necessitating Reichel’s recall) with a nagging lower-body injury. A team source suggested this was the plan all along, and it’s no secret that development remains a priority over winning for the Blackhawks, who are deep in the tank in an effort to land wunderkind Connor Bedard in the June draft.
But first-year coach Luke Richardson seemed to have other ideas when it came to Reichel.
“The idea of bringing him up now is, probably, he earned a spot,” Richardson said on Sunday, following Reichel’s big night against the Flames. “It’s not just a flash, coming up for a game or two. I think it’s just to give him an extended time to see if he can sustain what he’s doing right now.”
Richardson noted that he hadn’t really discussed the latest plan for Reichel with general manager Kyle Davidson, but added, “We expect him to be here.”
Reichel was the 17th pick in the 2020 draft, and the 20-year-old has been dominating in Rockford with 14 goals and 22 assists in 32 games. With Kane out of the lineup in Chicago, Reichel was playing on the top line as the left wing with Max Domi and Philipp Kurashev. Still, Reichel only played 12 minutes and 32 seconds Sunday thanks to a slew of power plays in the first two periods (Reichel’s on the less-used second power-play unit). In Rockford, he plays big minutes in all situations.
There’s no reason he couldn’t do that in Chicago — he’s clearly an NHL-caliber player — and he could still return to the NHL after the trade deadline if Kane and/or Jonathan Toews are traded. But for now, management wants him in Rockford — for his sake, and, not-so-subtly, for the tank’s sake.
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(Photo: David Banks / USA Today)
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