PuckPedia is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks have signed pending unrestricted free agent forward, Andreas Athanasiou, to a 2-year, $8.5MM contract extension. Heading into this summer, Athanasiou was one of only a few Blackhawks scheduled to hit the open market.
In a few weeks, the expectation is that Chicago will select generational prospect, Connor Bedard, with the first overall selection of the 2023 NHL Draft. With the extension of Athanasiou, one of Bedard’s linemates should already be in place.
Originally signed by the Blackhawks to a 1-year, $3MM contract last offseason, it was expected that Chicago might peddle Athanasiou at the 2023 Trade Deadline, but decided to hold onto the forward instead. In 81 games for the Blackhawks this year, Athanasiou had a solid season, scoring 20 goals and 20 assists.
Primarily being known as a goal-scorer throughout his career, Athanasiou has managed to hit the 30-goal mark once, coming back in the 2018-19 season with the Detroit Red Wings. With the prospect of playing on a line with the NHL’s next big superstar, Athanasiou should be able to build on a productive season.
That’s a solid sign. He gets a raise and the Hawks get a good young fast skater. I just read that Dubois wants a trade. Hawks should be all over that also.
the guy is not worth the headache (PLD)
Maybe not him as I’ve read a lot of posts saying the guy isn’t the greatest person but the Hawks have so many draft picks and young talent that they all won’t be able to play. They should be looking for proven young talent that they won’t have to wait to see. Deep teams that have Cap problems that would be willing to deal to gain Cap space for players they might not otherwise be able to retain. You certainly don’t want a guy with an attitude problem contaminating your young locker room. Davidson is building his team like Poles has, Good guys and good players who want to win and so far I think he has.