With two potential pieces of the future of the Chicago Blackhawks heading towards restricted free agency this summer, GM Kyle Davidson has made quick work of getting extensions done for Alex Vlasic first and now Lukas Reichel.

On Tuesday afternoon, hours before the NHL Draft Lottery, the Blackhawks and Reichel agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2025-26 season. The extension comes with a $1.2M AAV cap hit.

After being selected by the Blackhawks 17th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Reichel made his North American hockey debut in the 2021-22 season, playing primarily with the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL with 57 points in 56 games. He also made 11 appearances with the Blackhawks that season, tallying one assist. The following year, Reichel again played primarily with the IceHogs with 51 points in 55 games. It was his handful of NHL games in 2022-23, where he posted 15 points in 23 games, that boosted the excitement and expectation for Reichel coming into this past year.

After Davidson made the declaration coming out of training camp that Reichel was an NHL player, Blackhawks fans expected a significant jump in production from the first-rounder. Instead, Reichel wasn’t the confident puck-moving playmaker that showed-out in the AHL and with NHL club in 2023 with just 16 points in 65 games and an assignment to the IceHogs late in the season.

Now with a two-year extension, Reichel has the opportunity in Chicago to prove he is not the player he showed in the NHL last season. There is still a considerable amount of potential to un-tap in the soon to be 22-year-old. Having until the end of the 2025-26 season, when Davidson seems to be lining-up the Blackhawks to be in their true “contention window,” sets Reichel up to either be in or be out of the picture moving forward based on his progression over the next two seasons.