Lukas Reichel was drafted 17th overall in the 2020 NHL draft by the Blackhawks. A promising forward and added depth to a team going through a rebuild and looking to eventually rely on their young group they have been developing for a few seasons now.
Reichel has now played 172 games as a Blackhawk and has put up a total of 57 points in his career thus far, but has showed a lot of good developments in his own game and has proven a lot of skill within it. Although, the Blackhawks are now several weeks into the season so far and Reichel has been scratched for half of their games played, despite having 3 points in the 3 games he did skate in, making some Blackhawks fans wonder why he's being drawn in and out of the lineup this season.
It's now circulating there's potential that Reichel himself doesn't want to play for the Blackhawks organization anymore. There's rumblings that the Blackhawks might start opening the door to other clubs for potential returns soon as well. The issue right now seems that the Blackhawks might want more if they have to give up a young and promising forward, some teams might not want to give up much in exchange for Reichel.
This could put things at a standstill, while it is never a good thing as keeping a player in your organization that doesn't have their heart in it anymore, isn't healthy for the locker room. On the other hand, taking a low offer in return can upset fans and hurt the roster, especially with the position the Blackhawks are in right now. It's a hard thing to navigate when a player wants out of a club, but general managers can't give something up for nothing either and have to sit on it and wait for the right return most of the time.
The Blackhawk's faced this situation last season, when ahead of the trade deadline, defenseman Seth Jones requested a trade to a "cup contending team" as he was 30 and wanted a shot before it could possibily be too late for him. The Blackhawks traded him and a 4th round pick for the 2026 draft to the Panthers in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and a 1st round pick for the 2026 draft. Jones went on the win the cup with the Panther this last season.
It could still be some time before Reichel is moved and it's also entirely possible that Reichel could end up staying for the season, with him becoming a restricted free agent at the end of this season. It's still worth keeping an eye out for any rumblings here though, as Reichel is a young and skilled player that a lot of teams can have potential interest in, the Leafs have been rumored to have interest in him already.