Former Blackhawks 30-goal scorer wows Rockford in his first shift in the AHL

They'd waive him and send him down to Rockford, which given his injury history from last season, he'd clear.

You'd think it'd take time for Athanasiou to find his game again? Wrong, during his first shift as an IceHog he scored a goal.

The goal happened28 seconds into his first shift!

What does this say about the Blackhawks' asset management? Luke Richardson has some questions that need to be answered. Are they managing the lines correctly or is Athanasiou still finding his game?

Given how well he played today in the AHL, it could be argued it may be both. Athanasiou scored 2 points today in Rockford.

There's no reason to speculate if Athanasiou will be traded rumors of that are unfounded. But there's hope for him to return to the NHL if he continues to produce at the clip he is right now. Sometimes it's difficult to find your way back after a significant injury, and for Athanasiou maybe this was needed to motivate him.

The forward's $4.25 Million deal, makes it hard to move him during the season given his lack of production. But if he does find himself on another NHL team elsewhere, he'll have to play his best and aim for another season that edges him close to 20 goals, as he scored in 2022-2023.

One positive that could come of this, is he can help mentor players like Colton Dach, and Frank Nazar while he's in the AHL.

But, for now, we have questions.