Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has made large scale changes to the club's forward group; shedding salary through trades and allowing multiple players to walk in free agency. This was necessary to keep the team below the National Hockey League (NHL) salary cap ceiling for the upcoming season.
The club needed to re-sign star defenceman Evan Bouchard and with the contract of Leon Draisaitl kicking in, the team was in a tough spot. Luckily, Bowman was able to make a savvy trade for winger and top prospect Ike Howard and some key signings over the past few months to grab players who could battle for spots like Quinn Hutson, David Tomasek, or Josh Samanski.
Given a recent interview by former first round pick, Lukas Reichel, it seems like the Oilers were kicking tires on the struggling Chicago Blackhawks forward.
Would Lukas Reichel be a good fit for the Oilers?
When speaking with the Chicago Sun Times, Reichel recounted his summer back home in Germany saying "‘I heard from guys in Germany that I didn’t know knew hockey, they come up to me and say, ‘You’re going to go to Edmonton.’ I can’t do anything about it.’’ This of course was untrue and as of right now, only a week away from the commencement of training camp, Reichel remains a member of the Blackhawks.
Reichel was drafted by the Blackhawks 17th Overall at the 2020 NHL Draft, while Bowman was at the helm of the team. It makes sense and is not completely out of the ordinary for executives to reacquire players from their old destinations. There is an element of familiarity and with Bowman having already thought highly of the German winger, it would not be surprising he would try to trade for him.
His time in the windy city has not been without their hiccups. The 23 year old came over to North America for the 2021-22 season playing primarily with the Blackhawks American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. There, Reichel was a standout scoring 21 goals and 36 assists for 57 points in 56 games. His impressive play earned him a cup of joe with the Blackhawks, playing 11 games and registering one points -- a single assist.
The team remained patient with their young forward and sent him back to the AHL for another year, where he looked almost as dominant scoring 51 points (20 goals and 31 assists) in 55 games, once again receiving a call-up chance with the big club. There he played 23 games scoring 15 points (seven goals and eight assists).
Since that year, he has almost exclusively played in the NHL but has struggled mightily playing 135 games scoring only 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points over the past two seasons. He has found himself scratched and demoted numerous times, playing mostly bottom-six minutes this past year, averaging career lows in ice-time, under 12 minutes per game (hockey-reference.com).
Aside from his struggles at the NHL level, Reichel has continued to show up in a big way for Germany at the Men's World Hockey Championship. He has attended the annual tournament for four straight years, consistently being one of the team's top performers.
Reichel being able to be a top performer at every level and even in flashes at the NHL level, indicates the possibility that he may just need a change of scenery. He either does not fit the Blackhawks system or has not been utilized properly by the club, or both.
However, now the Blackhawks have hired a new head coach, hiring former Detroit Red Wings bench boss, Jeff Blashill. It remains to be seen how he will perform under the new coach but should he find himself on the trade block this year, expect the Oilers to make a push for him.