The lingering story of a Chicago Blackhawks forward has come to a close. After five seasons full of questions, his tenure ended with one more.
What if?
Left winger Lukas Reichel was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick. This came after months of rumors and discussions about the forward’s role with the team.
The Hawks now have 16 total picks in the next two drafts — nine in 2026 and seven in 2027.
The Hawks selected Reichel with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 draft. NHL Central Scouting had compared him to Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares, and former Hawks director of scouting Mark Kelley praised Reichel for “exceeding expectations”.
Size wasn’t the reason the Hawks drafted Reichel, who entered the NHL at 6 feet and 170 pounds. It was the hockey IQ and playmaking abilities he gained skating for Eisbären Berlin and Germany in the World Junior Championships.
It seemed like a match made in heaven, especially after he praised Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane following Eisbären Berlin’s NHL Global Series exhibition game against the Hawks in 2019. He expressed his desire to be a Hawk in a videoconference after his selection.
“When I was young, my favorite player was always Patrick Kane,” he told Chicago reporters. “My favorite team was always Chicago. And now I’m a Blackhawk, too, and that’s so awesome.”
The young skater surely didn’t envision later asking for a trade from his dream team. For Reichel, his time with the Hawks was both a drag and a blur.
The Hawks had hoped for Reichel to rise to his top-six-forward ceiling he was given on draft night. He played 56 games in Rockford in 2021-22, registering 57 points (21 goals, 36 assists).
After a 2022-23 season in which he saw an average of 16 minutes, 22 seconds of ice time, that number decreased to 11:55 in 2024-25. This season, he didn’t play in the opening two games and found increased ice time only in the absence of Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno.
He produced with the semi-increased opportunities, registering four points (two goals, two assists) in five games. That silenced rumors for a short while until that card finally was dealt.
Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar and others shared their reactions on Instagram when the Reichel trade news broke. On Saturday, coach Jeff Blashill spoke about the now-former Hawk.
“Lukas is a great kid (and) a great person, he was really well liked in our locker room (and) I really enjoyed my time with him,” Blashill said. “We had tough conversations and I thought he handled it like a complete pro, so I certainly wish him the best of luck.
“You can thrive in different opportunities and honestly, I hope for him that’s the case. He wasn’t going to get that same opportunity here. We had made decisions where we had other guys ahead.”
Reichel finished with 58 points, including 22 goals, in 174 games with the Hawks. He set career highs last season with eight goals, 14 assists, 22 points and 70 games.
The elephant in the Hawks locker room was addressed. Now what?
The Hawks (4-2-2) are 4-0-1 in their last five games, and Reichel played a part in the recent success. While the trade shouldn’t come back to bite them in the long run, it will be a question of if the forward’s absence will mess with the team’s momentum.
The Los Angeles Kings (3-3-2) come to the United Center on Sunday looking to use their defense to slow the Hawks down. Blashill knows about the potentially frustrating experience the Kings will bring.
“They’re a very good defensive team (and) they have been for a long time. It’s kind of what’s in their DNA,” Blashill said. “If you don’t take what the game gives you, that’ll be the challenge.”
The Reichel trade may have sped up the eventual elevation of Rockford IceHogs forward Oliver Moore. He has been on a tear in the AHL with six points in as many games with a plus-4 rating. On Oct. 12 at the Iowa Wild, he registered two goals and an assist.
At 23, Reichel still has plenty of hockey left in his career. A change of scenery could give him the opportunity to rise to his full potential.
The Canucks made the low-risk move in hopes of gaining scoring help — they rank 25th in the NHL in goals per game (2.63). Coincidentally, the player Reichel originally modeled his game after is now his teammate.
“My game style is maybe like (Canucks forward) Elias Pettersson because I’m not the biggest guy (or) the strongest guy on the ice,” Reichel said after his draft selection. “But I’m a smart guy, I’m a good skater, I like to shoot and that’s my game.”
The Canucks beat the Hawks 3-2 in a shootout on Oct. 18. The left winger did not record a point in 10:42 of ice time, while Hawks goaltender Spencer Knight stopped Pettersson’s shootout attempt.
Reichel won’t have to wait long to face his former teammates. The Hawks travel to Vancouver, British Columbia, on Nov. 5.