The Chicago Blackhawks agreed to terms with forward Lukas Reichel on a two-year contract Tuesday that keeps him as part of their young nucleus through 2025-26.
The contract carries a $1.2 million annual salary cap hit, which represents a modest raise for the restricted free-agent forward who will be entering his fourth season (and second full season) with the Hawks. His cap hit was $925,000.
By contrast, the Hawks rewarded defenseman Alex Vlasic with a bump from $916,667 to $4.6 million annually (a six-year deal signed on April 25) after a breakout season.
Incidentally, Reichel’s fellow first-round forwards Connor Bedard (age 18) and Frank Nazar (20), and first-round defenseman Kevin Korchinski (19) are also under contract through 2025-26.
Reichel, 21, finished a rocky season with five goals and 11 assists in 65 games.
The 2020 first-round pick was a one-game scratch in December and was scratched for two straight games in January. He then missed 13 games for the Hawks in late February and early March while playing for the Rockford IceHogs. But he thrived in his return to Chicago, posting two goals and four assists in his final 15 games.
The Hawks sent him back to Rockford to build on his progress in the Calder Cup playoffs. He recorded two goals and two assists in four games.
After the season, Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson praised Reichel for rebounding from earlier struggles when he started his first nine games without a point.
“I think the brief message to him, when we sent him down, was that we want him to go down and we want him to dominate, want him to help carry that team,” Davidson said on April 20.
