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The Chicago Blackhawks have sent forward Lukas Reichel to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, the team announced on Sunday. In 50 games with Chicago this season, Reichel scored three goals and recorded seven assists for 10 points.
The move comes on the heels of consecutive healthy scratches for the 21-year-old forward.
“We need more from him offensively without him giving it up defensively,” Luke Richardson said after Wednesday’s practice. “We realize when players are down on themselves, and we don’t want to pile on, but it’s the NHL. We have to somehow push them to get over that. A lot of that is internally with the player. We can only do so much.”
The Blackhawks have tried everything to get Reichel going, from healthy scratches to top-line minutes, from having him play center and wing, and nothing has worked. Over his last ten games, Reichel has 10 shots on goal. He has two points in the calendar year 2024. The dilemma with Reichel is that he can not be a bottom six player. If he’s not scoring, he’s not effective.
“He had it going at times last year,” Richardson said. Reichel finished the 2022-23 season strong, with 12 points in his final 19 games, and looked like he’d be a permanent fixture in the Blackhawks top-six for years to come. “We’re just trying to help him, and even show him, some of those games from last year to try to get him back [to that level].”
The Blackhawks are hoping a reset in Rockford helps Reichel find his offensive game again. If it doesn’t, his future in the organization is in doubt.
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