The month of February has drawn to a close, which is a relief for the struggling Chicago Blackhawks. Out of 10 games this past month, the team has only won a single game. Granted, three contests went to overtime, and the Blackhawks lost by just one goal four times. But none of that really matters when a team is forced to deal with so many losses.
The good news is Connor Bedard returned from a broken jaw on Feb. 15, and the rest of the team is slowly getting healthy after a plethora of injuries. Hopefully this will lead to a more productive March. That said, let’s get to some of the latest news and rumors.
Bedard Matches Kane in Latest Milestone
This Bedard kid is wasting no time getting his career off to a phenomenal start. He’s 18 years old and playing on a team that doesn’t have much in the way of a supporting cast for him. Not to mention he matches up against the opponent’s top players most nights. In other words, he’s not being eased into the NHL in any way, shape or form. He’s getting thrown straight into the fire.
But that’s not stopping Bedard. Actually, those things probably aren’t even a consideration in his mind. He’s just trying to be the best he can be, working on getting better and more acclimated every day.
On Feb. 25 when the Blackhawks faced the Detroit Red Wings and Patrick Kane, Bedard earned a primary assist on a Nick Foligno goal. At first everyone thought it was Bedard’s goal, but it went off Foligno’s body and the latter was credited with the goal. Nonetheless, this was Bedard’s 40th point of the season, in his 45th game. The irony here is that’s the exact same amount of time it took Kane to reach 40 points.
Connor Bedard matching Patrick Kane on a franchise list as Showtime makes his return to Chicago? Some stories write themselves.#NHLStats: https://t.co/V3npp39RHP pic.twitter.com/ICIzAL4Wfd
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 26, 2024
This leaves Kane and Bedard tied for fourth place in Blackhawks’ franchise history in the race to reach 40 points, behind only Denis Savard, Steve Larmer and Jonathan Toews. That’s not bad company to be keeping!
Bedard currently has 17 goals and 23 assists, and he’s on pace for 73 points through 82 games. For reference, Kane reached 72 points (21G, 51A) in 82 games in his first NHL season. Bedard is right on pace, and this isn’t even factoring in the 14 games he missed due to a fractured jaw.
I’d say it’s a safe bet to take the over on Bedard to exceed 72 points in his first season.
Could Kane Return to the Blackhawks?
While we’re on the subject of Kane, his return to the United Center couldn’t have gone much better than it did. Yeah, he plays for the Red Wings now. But that didn’t stop the fans from giving him a three-lap ovation after his video tribute. It didn’t stop them from erupting once again when Kaner scored the game-winning goal in overtime. For the wrong team, mind you!
It didn’t stop American-born legend Chris Chelios, during his own No. 7 banner-raising ceremony, from calling Kane THE greatest American-born player, and predicting he’d be giving a Blackhawks’ number retirement speech of his own in due time.
In his 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned a possible return to the Blackhawks for Kane. “We believed at the end of last year, Chicago had closed the book on that era of Blackhawks. I just wonder if there’s any chance now, after seeing the way that night went, if that could change.”
Let me preface this by saying this is just Friedman musing about the success of one night. He has no facts to back up a potential return to Chicago for Kane. But Kane himself recently said that if the organization had approached him about being a Blackhawk for life, “It probably would have been tough to say no.” (from ‘Lazerus: Patrick Kane, Connor Bedard, Chris Chelios and Blackhawks’ fortune’, The AthleticCHI – 2/27/24)
Again, that was then and this is now. Kane seems pretty happy, and successful, as a member of the Red Wings. It seems he’s been able to return to form following hip surgery; he currently boasts 13 goals and 31 points in 29 games with his new club. Plus, he’s enjoying playing on a line with Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat (again). The Red Wings are shooting for a playoff spot, and re-signing Kane after this season could certainly be an option. If that’s the direction he, and the Red Wings, want to go.
Related – Blackhawks Big Night: Chelios’ Number Raised & Kane’s Return
That said, Kane is only signed to a one-year contract, which has a very reasonable cap hit of $2.75 million. The Blackhawks currently have tons of cap space, so a deal could likely be made if they wanted Kane back in the fold. But do they? Kane recently addressed this issue. “I guess you never want to say never, but it seems like they’re kind of content going in a different direction. It is what it is. Guess we’ll see how everything plays out.”
Kane is right. General manager Kyle Davidson made a statement by not re-signing Kane or Toews. He wants to give his new young players the rope they need to develop and become leaders in their own right. I personally don’t see a Kane reunion in the near future.
But…if the Blackhawks become contenders in the next three-to-four years, is it out of the question to sign the veteran Kane for one last chance at a Stanley Cup?! Like Marion Hossa and Kimmo Timonen and Michal Rozsival before him?
Like Kaner said, “We’ll see how everything plays out”.
Athanasiou Opens Up about Injury Struggles
Andreas Athanasiou is a player the Blackhawks have dearly missed for most of this season. The speedy forward hasn’t played since Nov. 9, due to a lingering groin and hip-related injury. Head coach Luke Richardson recently told the media Athanasiou stepped on a puck or a stick way back in training camp which tweaked something. He played through it until an awkward fall on Nov. 9 (versus the Tampa Bay Lightning) put him out of commission.
At first Athanasiou didn’t think the injury was that bad, and was hopeful he could resume skating in early December. But the discomfort lingered. He hasn’t needed any type of procedure, which is good. But this also means only rest and rehab will fix the issue. This down time has been extremely frustrating for the 29-year-old.
Being a skater is my strong suit, and not being able to skate is definitely not a good feeling. You’re aching, you’re in pain and you’re just thinking about it the whole time, so it’s never a fun feeling. There’s so many doubts and thoughts that go through your head.
The London, Ontario native finally resumed skating again on Feb. 10, and began practicing with the team on Feb. 24. This past Wednesday (Feb. 28), he took line rushes on a fifth line with Boris Katchouk and Zach Sanford. Hopefully this is a sign he’s close to returning to the lineup. Said Richardson,
The doctors feel he’s at the point he can go full-out. It’s just [about] his pain and comfort level doing it. Today, watching him, I could tell he’s still watching himself on the quick stop-[and]-starts. I could see [it] in his face and body language. That’s going to be a mental hurdle to get over as much as getting back into [game] shape.
Related – Blackhawks’ Athanasiou Needs to Treat Injury as a Reset
Athanasiou will need to work hard mentally and physically after being out close to four months. There’s still no timetable for his return, but it looks like it will be soon. Hopefully he can make an impact down the stretch.
Reichel’s Progress in Rockford
Does everyone remember Lukas Reichel? With all the other excitement of Bedard and Kane, poor Reichel has been a bit of an afterthought. The 21-year-old prospect was sent down to the Rockford IceHogs on Feb. 18, after registering just three goals and 10 points in 50 games with the Blackhawks. So, how’s he doing? Scott Powers of The Athletic recently took a trip to Rockford to find out.
At the time of this writing, Reichel’s suited up for four games so far with the IceHogs, and he’s recorded two assists. While that’s not particularly impressive, head coach Anders Sorensen is encouraged by what he’s seen so far. The Blackhawks beat the Iowa Wild on Friday (Feb. 24) where Reichel had a lot of possession and was creating chances for himself and his teammates (he’s currently playing left wing on a line with Anders Bjork and Mike Hardman). He was also playing well defensively, backchecking and stripping the puck.
Said Reichel, “You see all the good players in the NHL, they create their own chances and forechecking and have a good gap and stealing pucks from the D. That’s what I’ve been working on.” (from ‘Lukas Reichel out to prove he belongs in the NHL with Blackhawks again’, The AthleticCHI – 2/29/24)
Coach Sorensen is also impressed with Reichel’s positive mindset to his situation.
I think he’s handled it really well. Obviously when you’re an offensive player like him and you’re up there all year and you’re not producing the way you want to, you lose your ice time and it’s easy to get down on yourself. But he’s had a real good attitude. I think we’re fortunate too there’s guys here who played with him last year that he really enjoys being around. I think that helped him.
Plus, the IceHogs are in a playoff push. They’re playing meaningful games, and winning a lot. This must be refreshing after all the losing the Blackhawks have endured. Reichel admitted it can take it’s toll. “Sometimes it just sucks to lose and it’s frustrating.”
It’s unclear when Reichel will return to Chicago, but the coaches have made it clear it won’t be right away. They want him to work up to how he was playing last season, and then continue to do that consistently. Then they can discuss him returning to the big club.
Who knows if this will happen at some point in March or April, or not until next season. The IceHogs’ regular season goes through Apr. 21, and there could be playoff games beyond that. It might be valuable for Reichel to experience that, while becoming more confident in his game.
Related – Possible Trade Packages for Blackhawks’ Colin Blackwell
That’s all for today’s news and rumors! The Blackhawks aren’t expected to be very active at the Mar. 8 trade deadline, but you never know what smaller moves might be made. Keep it here at The Hockey Writers to see what unfolds, as well as if the Blackhawks can find more success in March, and beyond.
