The Chicago Blackhawks are left with a tough decision regarding another forward

Athanasiou currently has 20 points through 56 games, but has been playing better hockey as of late. He ranks 8th on the Blackhawks in points and is averaging 15:15 of ice time. With the Blackhawks nearing a mass fire sale by the end of next weekend, here's why Athanasiou needs to be included.

Athanasiou is on a one-year contract worth $3,000,000 AAV. There are many teams in tight races for the wild card positions for a chance to make the playoffs. The race is extremely tight in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres, Red Wings, and Panthers are all tied with 64 points, followed by the Penguins with 63 and the Capitals with 62.

Any of those teams would make tons of sense as potential landing spots for Athanasiou. All of the listed teams could use the versatility and depth scoring that he brings to the table, especially the Islanders and Capitals. The Islanders lost Mat Barzal to injury and don't have a time table to a potential return. The Capitals just traded away Hathaway to the Bruins, so they could use Athanasiou to fill the bottom six role for cheaper than the remaining options on the board.

Athanasiou won't bring the Blackhawks a hefty return like some of the other players on their roster, but at this point the Blackhawks have nothing to lose. They are all in for Connor Bedard and are trying to gather all of the draft capital possible to reload the pipeline. Having Athanasiou hang around won't help the Blackhawks future.