On Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, the Chicago Blackhawks announced the team has signed forward Lukas Reichel to a two-year contract that carries a $1.2 million cap hit.
Reichel, 21, is coming off a massively disappointing season in which he produced only 5 goals and 11 assists in 65 NHL games. He spent some additional time in Rockford late in the season as the coaches and front office tried literally everything to get him to find the confidence he showed during his stay in Chicago during the 2022-23 season.
His previous cap hit was $925,000.
Reichel was originally the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. He scored the final two goals of the year for the IceHogs in their elimination game over the weekend.
This is absolutely a prove-it deal for Reichel, and two years of control at that cap hit makes him a potentially intriguing asset if someone else is interested in him via trade at some point in the coming months.