Chicago Blackhawks management proves to be incompetent again as a player just made them eat their words
The Chicago Blackhawks leadership are in shambles, both on-ice and off-ice. Off-ice being the Chicago Sports Network and that whole debacle, but on-ice being that Kyle Davidson and Luke Richardson have no clue what they're doing, and this is just another example.
Andreas Athanasiou was sent down to the AHL a couple days ago. He played his first game as a Rockford Icehog yesterday afternoon. Well, he scored two goals.
Athanasiou had a phenomenal 2022-23 campaign, having 20 goals and 20 assists, tallying up to 40 points in 81 games, having his best season since 2018 when he was on the Detroit Red Wings. That earned him a two-year contract extension worth $4.25 million per year over the summer of 2023.
Well, last season, Athanasiou suffered from a groin injury in November and didn't return until early March. That left Andreas to only play 28 games last year, where he had nine points and a whopping -7.
This year is different, though. He has only played in five games this season, his last one being on October 22nd against the Vancouver Canucks, nearly a whole month ago. There was nothing wrong with him. He was just being healthy scratched every game. It seemed as if Richardson had no clue what he wanted to do with the team at the time, and still doesn't today, but Andreas got stuck in this loop where he didn't play in a hockey game for a month. Athanasiou was eventually sent down to Rockford, where he scored two goals yesterday in his first AHL game ever, showing why he should've been at least getting a shot in Chicago all along.
The Blackhawks should learn from this. Andreas had one good year and they immediately signed him to a two-year deal, and he wasn't necessarily cheap either. It was impulsive. Sure, the cap didn't really matter back then as they just got Connor Bedard and there was barely any light at the end of the tunnel. However, Davidson and his team have to be smarter with how they spend, because at the end of the day, you want that cap space.
This part is the hardest part of the rebuild, as you've sold all your pieces and are getting to the end where you're done with the collecting of picks, prospects, and more. You try to add some pieces as well here and there, which the Blackhawks did. But you're just stuck being an improving, but bad team, and there's nothing you can do about it. With all that being said, Davidson and his team have to be smart, and right now, they aren't being smart.
