With roster cuts looming, it appears Lukas Reichel’s days with the Chicago Blackhawks could be numbered.
Scott Powers of The Athletic writes that the Blackhawks have let teams know that Reichel is available on the trade block as recently as the past few days.
“What happens over the next week is anyone’s guess,” Powers wrote Monday. “He could be traded. He could make the Blackhawks roster out of camp. He could be placed on waivers, and that could mean either being claimed by someone else or reassigned to the AHL.”
The 23-year-old winger posted eight goals and 22 points in 70 games with the Blackhawks last season. He had five goals 16 points 65 games in the 2023-24 after playing in a total of 34 games the two seasons prior.
Lukas Reichel could be playing for the Blackhawks, the IceHogs or even another NHL team come next week. A look at his situation⤵️ https://t.co/96XqXefLzN
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) September 29, 2025
“It’s a little bit of a prove-it camp for Lukas,” Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson admitted earlier this month. “It’s been an up-and-down couple of years for him. But we still see Lukas as an extremely talented, high-upside player that has just as good a shot as anyone as breaking camp with this team. But he’s got to earn it just like everyone else. And he’s gotta find that niche. Where you gonna find yourself, where you gonna line up in the roster? That’s up to him to perform in camp and then coaches to deliver feedback and have that give-and-take to make sure he’s got all the information necessary to make this team.”
Reichel, who is signed through this season at a cap hit of $1.2 million ahead of restricted free agency, was selected 17th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2020 draft.
Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill said Reichel will have to change his game in order to fit in Chicago’s lineup.
“His skill set is probably a little more top-six in terms of the way that he’s come up and what he’s valued, I guess,” Blashill said. “So, part of the process is probably learning how to take that and say, ‘OK, if I’m not going to get a top-six (role), whether those decisions are right or wrong, how can I grab a different spot?’ So you’re not limiting yourself to six positions. So, that’s something that we’ll continue to have conversations on and keep finding ways to make himself a commodity.”
The Nuremberg, Germany native has 20 goals and 54 points in 169 career games, all with Chicago.
He represented Germany at the 2020 World Juniors, posting three goals and five points in seven games.