Blackhawks Send Lukas Reichel Back To Rockford
On a sunny Sunday morning after winning their fourth straight game, the Blackhawks announced a number of roster moves.
Veteran defenseman Jake McCabe was activated off the COVID list, which is good news. The blue line played well with McCabe and Seth Jones away, but having either/both of them back should improve that unit. It also (cough) starts to rebuild the team’s depth in the event (cough) the team wants to engage in (cough) trade conversations.
Forward Mike Hardman and goaltender Cale Morris were recalled to the taxi squad.
And the Blackhawks assigned forward Lukas Reichel and defenseman Ian Mitchell to the IceHogs.
May see him for a few more games, get him ready for a full year next season is the main thing, liked what i saw. Wonder who plays berween 88 and 38 tomorrow if Dach or Strome not cleared. Borgstrom, Lafferty, Slavin or Kurashev maybe.
ian
i would like to see slavin between hagel and entwhistle. see what they look like as a high energy third line. on a cup contending team i see hagel as a high end third line winger ….. not a second line winger. hagel can get his deserved toi by also playing pk and pp minutes.
He’ll be back and based on his two games he looks to be the real deal
Don’t like the Hawks chances in SEA without 27 17 or 77 and maybe no 4
We’ll I wonder what deductions the “brain trust” got out of that 2 game tryout??? I wonder if it was when he took a check and flew 3 feet into the air?? He’s got some speed, can win a faceoff and it looks like he can pass a little bit. Gain 30 pounds of weight and some muscle and see us at the end of the year!!! Good Luck to you!!
I thought Lukas seemed comfortable and did a nice job. I would like to see him in a few more games before the end of season.
hawks 29 agree developing a strong bottom half your roster is a necessary too. Those 3 if they can contribute offensively could be a solid line at some point. This tdl and off season will dictate what the next few years are going to look like on the ice. My guess is stay the course this season and move a few expiring deals. Name their off ice personnel after season or maybe start that process late in the year. Then be very active around draft and heading into fa frenzy time.
Ahhh….. Mitchell or Gus?
I’ll hang up and listen for your answer!
Ahhhhh…….Mitchell or Gus ?
I’ll hang up and listen for your answer.
Glad to see him back with his team . They saw he was to fragile and he did had a nice few chance here and there. He need time to gain weight and confidence,he is a bright kid and he knows it’s to early to play at NHL level .
He will probably gain a 4-6 kilos before the next season and he will still be small but close to the limit to play in NHL .
No rush .
I know I’m in the minority with this opinion, but I strongly believe that we should keep Fleury, assuming he wants to stay. The reason our team D has improved is a direct result of the confidence they have in MAF; they know he will bail them out more often than not. And if we’re looking to build a solid foundation for the kids coming up, what better way than to have a veteran of his caliber in net. He’s the only reason we’re creeping back towards 500. Now, if the Hawks are set on letting g him go at the TDL, then I hope they would have more class than the VGN did when they let him find out about it on twitter. What if he wants to stay?
tony in la
maf has to go. he is much more valuable as a trade asset than playing a couple of years, helping the hawks win games they should not, and hurting draft position. band aids have been put on this team for several years and it leads nowhere. if maf was thirty years old it’s a different story, but at his age time for him to go.
the hawks record under king is fool’s gold. maf is stealing wins and overtime points. bad team. time to blow it up. way past time.
Gotta trade MAF. Do it the right way. Tell him they will give him a fair offer next season. Believe Edmonton has to come calling soon. If an injury occurs to a playoff bound team they will come calling. A #1 is sure to be offered and more.
I will weigh in on the Mitchell v Gus debate, and say that I am Team Mitchell. The kid at least plays defense! He is getting better in the offensive end, and it’s high time we started playing our kids, and not allow them to do well somewhere else. aka…Forsling!
Like I have stated since watching Reichel play, he needs to get stronger. We don’t have a player of that caliber down the middle, and yes he is a center-men only! I think he will be back once we eliminate the traffic jam of 3rd and 4th line players.
Personally, I agree and would not trade MAF! Why? Let him play another 3-4 years in Chicago, it’s not like we don’t need a GK. With our draft history, the first rounder we get for MAF will be a someone that never makes our team; I’d rather have another HOF, leader and a mentor in the locker room.
Reichel looked about as good as we could have expected a 19 year old kid that is not fully physically matured and also not already NHL average size / weight. He was put under extreme pressure to center Kane and he didn’t fly the zone and neglect his d-responsibilities as a center and seemed to take them very seriously. He won some faceoffs, competed all over the ice, showed really good speed and anticipation and made some quick smart passes and didn’t seem to be intimidated by either the NHL stage nor the opponents. He looked like he belonged already. I was not for giving him the keys to the castle in being able to center Kane in his 1st game in the NHL and I thought it was a big slap in the face to guys like Kurashev and Dach for example who are still working hard to get those opportunities – BUT –the kid did not disappoint me. He looks like a potential future number 1 or 2 center which is awesome even if it leads to the hawks needing to make some difficult decisions. I thought Kurashev looks more comfortable as a center especially early this year but lately he was starting to also find a groove as a winger. I don’t understand how the Hawks “rewarded” him (as Eddy said) by dropping him to the 4th line after scoring maybe the strangest OT goal in recent Hawks memory.
As to fleury, whether we trade him or not should have nothing to do with age. It can be argued he’s playing some of the greatest hockey of his career the past couple years and age is nothing but a number. For some athletes, 32 is old, for some 28 is old, and for others it’s 37 or even 47 (hello chelly) that isn’t going to stop them. But yes I’m in the camp we ditch fleury at TDL for assets we need and to give him an opportunity to compete that he deserves and then if he wants to come back and we think we can be competitive within 2 yrs, we consider it.
I think we all knew that Reichel was only up for a “cup of coffee” with the team. The kid needs to put on some weight and more muscle. He has talent…no doubt. My question is, when he goes back to Rockford, do they put him back at LW or is he going to get that development at Center?
Let’s get a real good look at Beaudin, Mitchell, Kalynuk, Phillips, and Regula. Who has staying power and who is up for trade? Galvas has played well with the team in an extended look. I think we know that de Haan, Gustafsson, and possibly McCabe are on the block. MAF is not going to be here. A team with a real chance, that is weak in net, will be calling. Does this team have a real GM who can find real talent? Do we have an organ-I-zation that has an ACTUAL PLAN for developing talent and a personality? All these questions should be addressed with the remainder of this season. This is a year for seeing what’s in the cupboard and who can stay or who can go. I count 5 forwards that can be traded and at least 3 defensemen. This team needs an overhaul and Rockford needs to be replenished. No easy task. Stan Bowman really did a number on this organ-I-zation and on Rockford. The Wirtz Family has a chance to reclaim the fans or, like the late Dollar Bill did, lose another generation of fans until we see real, intelligent thought and plans.
Mitchell or Gus? Are you kidding? Gustafsson is plain awful and you know it. He needs to be let go. Cut. Or traded, for anythng. Mitchell needs to Play, and stop riding the Rockford return bus. Geez, give the guy a real chance.
re Mitchell or Gus – the Blackhawks are quickly coming to a point where they’re going to have WAY too many bodies on the blue line. I really like what I’ve seen from Stillman the last few games. And I think it’s clear Caleb Jones isn’t going anywhere with his brother getting paid the way he is. So we’re looking at a six veteran defensemen — Seth & Caleb, McCabe, Murphy, de Haan & Murphy — that actually make up a decent group.
But then you consider how many recent picks/trades have added defensive prospects over the past couple years, the reality that Gus is still here for some reason, the hopes that some of these kids are going to contribute at some point (Mitchell, Galvas, Kalynuk, Regula, etc) and the harsh reality that the Hawks are going to need younger, more affordable assets at some point (see: when DeBrincat’s contract needs to be renewed) and the front office is going to have some serious decisions to make on the back end.
Riley Stillman .
I just want to say that I think he is developing very good this year and probably that MAF AND $ JONES are a part of his transformation
Maybe he is a better Dman then most of us think ,we have to remember that the kid is 23. About 2 years from the beginning of the peak for Dman .the coaches are giving him ice time and he take what he can to show them .
Maybe it’s just a good week or two in is life but I have look at him lately and think he might be a good player to keep .He plays well and he hits and he block shots.he plays around 14 minutes/ game .but would not be surprise to see him get 1-2 minutes more per game in the future. it’s a good deal at 1.35 million/ year for 3 years
Tab
Your top six include Stillman I think …right
I hope they trade DeHaan .
tab
the goal is still to be competitive to win the cup. of the six d-men you mentioned above only seth would have played top two pairings on any of the recent hawks cup winning teams. i am not saying that any of the prospects in the system will ultimately become players who could play top two pairings on a cup competitive team either, but at least they are young and likely will improve going forward. as currently made up this defense is woefully lacking in quality. decent groups of defensemen don’t backline teams that are competitive to win a cup. murphy, mc cabe, and de haan are the same guy and all approaching the back end of there careers. there will be no improvement for any of them. so much work to be done here.
Having Caleb as 7th Dman makes you have to hit on the other 6. Murphy, deHaan and McCabe are black holes when it comes to offense and Stillman has just started to flourish, will that last? So instead of playing Gus, both Mitchell and Kalynuk should be getting starts as the 6th Dman. But it appears as if
this organization loves having Gus play, that’s both a feature and a bug and doesn’t bode well for any future decisions they will make.
MAF should be traded, he shouldn’t be anywhere near this team after the TD
As of today the Hawks are 6 points out of a PO spot, with 6 teams ahead of them and out of those 6 teams 4 of them have at least 3 games in hand. So while 6 points looks doable, it’s really fools Gold.
dollar bill
the only solace i take in not seeing mitchell and kalynuk is the hope that the others are being showcased to be traded and that once the tdl has passed that the kids will be playing. one can only hope. no future with mc cabe, murphy, or de haan. at least one way or the other de haan will be yesterday’s news come next season.
good analysis on the fool’s gold.
@Hawks 29
I see where you’re coming from but I don’t have any faith with KD making
the upcoming decisions at the TDL
I agree wholeheartedly with the assessment you made about the D especially
the Black Holes that are comprised of Murphy/McCabe/DeHaan
Agree with Tab, too many bodies on blueline and not getting any better ahead. Allen and Crevier under elcs now, Crevier especially as an overager burning an elc in juniors this year, will be in Rfd. to start next year, Allen could stay in juniors another year and slide again if they feel it helps him. Vlassic and Kaiser could be considering signing their elcs and would need a spot in Rfd. if so. Something gotta give.
S. Jones and Murphy likely staying for awhile, C. Jones should be the 7th guy if he stays. Expect Dehaan and Gus to gone next year, but didn’t expect them to be around this year so never know I guess. McCabe be around as top 4 guy until somebody makes him expendable in another year or 2. Stillman definitely in the mix with young D in Rfd. & soon to be there eventually. Should be 2 spots for youngsters soon, plus injuries by tdl or at least next season hopefully.
Just to be clear, I agree that MAF’s age is not a consideration. He’s playing inspired hockey, IMO, which should be very appealing to possible suitors. But I still believe he should stay, and not because he’s going to help us get to the playoffs – I don’t believe that at all. Certainly not this year. But his role as a mentor and an example of professionalism is invaluable for this young group right now. And, frankly, I don’t trust this front office to do right by this team if they trade him. What do you think Edmonton is going to give us if he goes there? A couple of draft picks perhaps, which I would argue is even more of a crap shoot than usual, again because our front office is weak.
McCabe in for Galvas today, Hardman in, Borgstrom between 38 and 88. Wish Galvas stayed in and C. Jones was out, make more sense. S. Jones out of protocol be back against Wild likely. Reichel goal and assist for Rfd. still in 2bd period.
As expected Galvas is being scratched tonight as McCabe rejoins the team – based on performance however that scratch should go to Caleb
I understand rolling with Gus for tonight (he wasn’t bad vs ANA) and maybe they’re thinking of including Caleb in some TDL trade package but otherwise Galvas has outplayed him
post TDL we should see more of Galvas Mitchell Entwistle (who probably goes to RKF when Strome and Dach are back to protect the trade value of Carp) probably Reichel and a few others as well – Hardman Kalynuk Regula possibly
I’m not so sure KD can’t do the job – I like the Lafferty trade so far and if people underestimate him because he’s new and young that could work in his favour
Like it or not though he’ll be making TDL deals that should include 44 56 22 and 29 at minimum – let’s hope he’s up to the job