While we often use the term “hot seat” to refer to coaches whose jobs are at risk, the same concept can apply to players. On any given team, players can range from considering their positions “safe” to those whose play will dictate whether they’re brought back the following year.
Last summer, I listed Mackenzie Entwistle, Petr Mrazek, and Jarred Tinordi as three players who would have to prove they belonged on the Blackhawks, who, despite being a rebuilding team, were faced with plenty of roster decisions. Each of the three players’ contracts were expiring, and the unspectacular play of Entwistle and Tinordi made moving on from the two skaters an easy choice this summer. Meanwhile, Mrazek, who was tasked with manning the net behind one of the worst defensive units in hockey, enjoyed a career year and earned a two-year contract extension.
This year, three players in particular will be under intense scrutiny from the Blackhawks’ staff. Whether it’s because of an inability to stay healthy, unspectacular production, or failed expectations, these three skaters will have to prove they belong.
Taylor Hall
Wait, the Hart Trophy winner and perennial All-Star will have to prove himself to the Blackhawks? Even though some might say Hall’s game speaks for itself, his job in the future with Chicago is anything but secure. It’s a bit unfair to cite his injury issues from last season as a reason. However, Hall is 32 years old and just suffered a devastating knee injury, which many players never fully recover from. After being away from the ice for an entire year, will he be able to return without any issues? Will he be able to successfully gel with an almost completely new lineup, or be content with a slightly reduced role in the offense?
Hall’s return wouldn’t be so heavily scrutinized if he wasn’t also entering a contract year with the Blackhawks. At an AAV of $6 million, he’s set to be the highest-paid forward on the team this season. If he wants to earn a contract extension in Chicago that keeps him among the biggest earners, he’ll have to play like one, even after such a tough injury.
Lukas Reichel
This one should be obvious for anyone who followed the Blackhawks at any point last season. Reichel, who came into the 2023-24 campaign with massive expectations to be the franchise’s future second-line center, virtually disappeared altogether, notching 16 points in 65 games. He was often the center of attention for all the wrong reasons, being moved around the lineup and sent down to Rockford for ten games to try to reinvigorate his seemingly unconfident and uninspired play.
In May, Reichel was signed to a two-year, $2.4 million contract extension and once again faces high expectations. The 22-year-old is still viewed as a foundational piece to the eventual Blackhawks dynasty, only now with much more skepticism. Is the Reichel we saw last season the one we’ll get for the next two years? If that’s the case, he would finish out that deal with the IceHogs and find a new home elsewhere. But if he can figure out his game like he did in the spring of 2023, it’ll be a sigh of relief for both him and Chicago.
Andreas Athanasiou
Like Hall, Athanasiou missed most of last season due to injury (a groin issue that allowed him to play just 28 games). But unlike Hall, Athanasiou isn’t a former Hart Trophy winner and wasn’t supposed to be playing on the top line next to Connor Bedard last year. Although it again isn’t fair to put the 29-year-old on the hot seat because he was injured, Athanasiou wasn’t the most productive when he was healthy (two goals and nine points last season). Add to that a completely transformed and crowded forward group, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Athanasiou was the odd man out at the end of the upcoming campaign.
With one year left on the contract that will pay him $4.25 million, the veteran center will be facing a pretty hefty pay cut and a change of scenery if he doesn’t blow expectations out of the water. Even if he has a spectacular, healthy year, the Blackhawks may be more inclined to move on to a younger, higher-upside option.
