The Chicago Blackhawks have lost the first two games after the All-Star Break and have now dropped six games in a row, which is a record for the season. This doesn’t come as a big surprise; the team is still without the services of Connor Bedard, and they’re having trouble scoring without him. But one player that’s really struggled is Lukas Reichel. He was hoping a visit from his parents and a reset over the break would help him. But in the first two contests of February, that hasn’t been the case.
At this point, the Blackhawks don’t seem to know what to do to light a fire under Reichel. It’s been a topic of conversation all season long among the Blackhawks’ faithful; what can be done to get Reichel going? Let’s look at how the 21-year-old got to this point, weigh some of the options being discussed, and examine the pros and cons of these choices.
Reichel’s Struggles This Season
At the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, there were high hopes for the Blackhawks’ 17th overall pick from the 2020 NHL Draft. He finished the previous campaign finding his stride in the NHL, registering seven goals and 15 points in 23 games. This season was supposed to be his season to dig in and really show his value as one of the top forward prospects behind Bedard.
At first the Blackhawks wanted the one-two punch of Bedard as the first line center and Reichel as the second line center. But Reichel struggled to produce with this added responsibility. At the end of October, the 21-year-old was moved to the left wing of the second line instead.
But his struggles continued. He didn’t score his first goal until Nov. 16, and that was a power play goal. The longer Reichel went without production led to reduced confidence on the ice. On Dec. 3, he was scratched against the Minnesota Wild. The coaching staff saw this as an opportunity for the forward to take a step back; to watch from afar and digest some of the things the coaches were looking for.
When Reichel returned to the lineup the next game, he was deployed on the fourth line. He would have to earn his way back. This is a bit of a Catch 22, since playing with less skilled forwards isn’t exactly the best way to unlock Reichel’s potential. But the thought process was this would help him be more aggressive and accountable. Said Reichel at the time, “When you play [in the] bottom six, then you’ve got to win those pucks, win those battles, play good defensively, have a good forecheck and, from that, you create your chances.”
Related – 3 Blackhawks Who Must Step up in Bedard’s Absence
Unfortunately, nothing really changed. He showed flashes, but then became unnoticeable again. Reichel even got a handful of games playing among the top-six due to injuries, but he couldn’t take advantage. He was scratched again for matchups on Jan. 22 and Jan. 24. Again, head coach Luke Richardson brought up Reichel’s confidence, and the need to take a step back.
I think he’s doing a lot of things we’re asking him to do defensively. It’s just the same, confidence offensively, and shooting pucks, and not holding onto them too long, and getting stripped, and being frustrated and making him play defense too much.
Sometimes, he’s just overthinking it. Sometimes, when you take a step back and work on some individual stuff, see some video, and see some other players making some correct decisions but also some incorrect decisions, that sometimes helps you get your game on track.
(from ‘Lukas Reichel Starts Road Trip as a Healthy Scratch’, CHGO – 1/21/24)
AGAIN, nothing really changed. Here we are four games later, with the same dilemma. So, what are the options?
Option No. 1: Move Reichel Into the Top-Six
This seems like such an obvious answer, doesn’t it?! Reichel played his best last season on a top line with Philipp Kurashev and Andreas Athanasiou. Unfortunately, Athanasiou has been out with a groin issue since Nov. 9, with no timeline yet for his return. But Kurashev and Reichel are actually very close off the ice, and that could easily translate on the ice this season as well as it did last season. Especially with Bedard out, they sure could use the offense! Why not try Kurashev and Reichel in the top line together? This is a no-brainer, right?!
But here’s the thing. It’s hard to reward someone when they’re not doing what you ask of them. When the Blackhawks played the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 7, Reichel was on the ice for both goals against. Especially on the second goal, he was a bit lazy getting the puck out, which led to the turnover and the subsequent goal for the Wild. The next contest, Reichel was demoted from the third to the fourth line. He finished the game with only 9:46 minutes of ice time, as a minus-1 and with zero shots on goal.
If I was Richardson, I’d demote Reichel too. He just seems to be lollygagging out there. He’s completely lost his confidence. He looks broken. And I get it; Richardson and company contributed to that by being hard on him. But are they being too hard on him? I just don’t know if Reichel has it in him to play hard like they want him to. He’s a finesse guy. He’s like Patrick Kane but without enough talent to be forgiven for not playing defense and not finishing his checks.
So, should they promote him anyway? Commit to him on the top line for a good amount of time, and see what happens? It might just do the trick!
Option No. 2: Send Reichel to Rockford
This is easy enough to do. Reichel is waivers exempt, and he went back and forth between the Rockford IceHogs and Chicago last season. The IceHogs could use the reinforcements; they currently just won a game on Corey Crawford Night after losing seven straight.
Tonight’s lines and starters, read by Crow👀 pic.twitter.com/TBNr80Y3F9
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) February 11, 2024
Would this mess even more with Reichel’s confidence, or would it help him? It’s tough to say; getting sent down would be pretty demoralizing right now. But it could help him find his groove again playing against lesser opponents.
Reichel built some chemistry playing with Cole Guttman when the latter was up with the Blackhawks earlier in the season. Guttman is currently the IceHogs’ top line center. Colton Dach is a promising young prospect that just returned to the IceHogs’ lineup from a concussion. You could put Reichel and Dach together and see how they do.
Related – Blackhawks’ Dach Earning Real Shot at Making NHL Roster
Oh, that’s an exciting thought! What if they really hit it off?! You could give Reichel, say, the rest of February working on his weak points in Rockford and finding some confidence with Dach. Then at some point later in the season bring up Dach for a few games, and he and Reichel can pick up where they left off! Which could roll right on into next season!
Ok, I’m being way too hypothetical here and going off on a tangent. But a stint in Rockford for Reichel might not be out of the question at this point. It might even do him some good.
Option No. 3: Status Quo for Reichel
The first thing to note here is the status quo certainly doesn’t appear to be working right now. But Reichel’s struggles have been going on ALL season, and the organization is preaching patience. They’re pointing out that Reichel is still young, and sometimes the process just takes time.
Heck, maybe they’re letting Reichel percolate in the bottom-six to really earn his wings. Then when Bedard comes back they’ll put those two together and let them fly, along with Kurashev. It’s worth noting that two of Reichel’s three goals were assisted by Bedard, and the other by Kurashev.
Maybe we all just need to remember that the ENTIRE team is struggling right now, and this is a developmental season anyway. Is the treatment of Reichel all just a master plan to make him better in the long run?
Related – Connor Bedard Getting Closer to Returning to Blackhawks’ Lineup
Everyone is frustrated with Reichel’s progression right now. The fans, the coaches, and obviously Reichel himself. There are different options to give the German native the best opportunity to succeed, as I’ve outlined above. Which option is the right one? It’s tough to say. But the Blackhawks are going to keep working at it.
