Barely two years ago, Lukas Reichel was coming off a sensational closing stretch to his rookie season and was set to become Connor Bedard’s long-term linemate on the Chicago Blackhawks’ top line. The young German forward was one of the early building blocks of Chicago’s long-term rebuild, and he very much looked the part.
On Friday, Reichel was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a fourth-round draft pick in 2027. Things change quickly in this business.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have acquired forward Lukas Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. pic.twitter.com/PeZEU8YOKt
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 24, 2025
It’s a classic “change-of-scenery” trade, as the Blackhawks have been trying to find a match for Reichel for some time now, ever since it became apparent he no longer fit into the team’s bigger picture. The return is underwhelming, to say the least, but Reichel is no longer waiver-exempt, and with several younger players knocking on the NHL door — including 2023 first-round pick Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis, who scored 71 goals in the OHL last season — he was potentially blocking the path.
Reichel’s skating is still undeniable, and he remained one of the Blackhawks’ more creative offensive players the past couple of years, one of the few players who could regularly create zone entries at speed. But once he got into the offensive zone, he’d rarely make anything happen. His production never came close to matching what he did in 2022-23, when he had seven goals and eight assists in 23 NHL games as a 20-year-old. Reichel had just 13 goals over the past two seasons, largely in a bottom-six role. With his wheels and versatility — he plays all three forward positions — Reichel somewhat tried to reinvent himself as a defense-first player, but clearly the fit was wrong. And as a Stan Bowman draft pick, he never seemed to be high in new general manager Kyle Davidson’s pecking order.
First-year Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said repeatedly in training camp and early in the season that Reichel’s skill set required a top-six role, but there simply wasn’t one for him.
“We like Lukas,” Davidson said before the season opener, in which Reichel was a healthy scratch. “It’s just, sometimes there are 12 other guys who are fitting a little more seamlessly at the moment. … He’s working hard. I know the coaches are working with him to make sure he’s ready to go when the opportunity arises and we’ll expect he’ll take that when a spot opens up. He’s a useful part of our team, he’s here for a reason and he’s going to get an opportunity here coming up.”
Reichel had two goals and two assists in five games after rejoining the lineup for the third game of the season. But he still found himself in the bottom six, though he did see some time with — and did show some chemistry alongside — Bedard the last couple of games.
Why the Canucks made this trade
The Canucks needed some forward reinforcements of some variety, and Reichel certainly fits into the “some variety” bucket.
While he probably isn’t the answer to Vancouver’s woes down the middle of its forward group, the 23-year-old is a gifted offensive player. He has an exceptional AHL scoring profile and pedigree as a 2020 first-round pick.
He has the versatility to play center, which is clearly Vancouver’s greatest area of need with Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger’s continued absences. Blueger was shifted to injured reserve on Friday, clearing up the roster space for the Canucks to acquire Reichel.
Reichel has only won 41 percent of his draws over the past three seasons, though, and has been used on the wing in Chicago this season, so he’s more center-capable than he is a full-time center long-term in Vancouver.
The Canucks had eschewed other paths to adding depth center options throughout the offseason, opting to permit Pius Suter to walk as a free agent on an affordable two-year contract with St. Louis and deciding not to pursue Jack Roslovic, for example. Both are players that Vancouver viewed more as wingers than as full-time center options.
Desperate times, however, call for desperate measures, it seems.
Icing a lineup with only two centers that Vancouver coach Adam Foote has trusted to take faceoffs over the past two games, and getting outscored 10-3 since Chytil left the lineup after the first period against the Washington Capitals last Sunday, has understandably modified the thinking of Canucks management.
And that overall indecision wasn’t too costly, as Reichel was added at the cost of a fourth-round pick that Vancouver previously acquired from the Blackhawks in the Ilya Mikheyev trade.
As we await further updates on Chytil’s status, Vancouver still has a serious move to make to upgrade the depth of its forward group, regardless of his prognosis. The Canucks can justify a bigger swing, given the stakes of this season, especially because Reichel is unlikely to prove to be the solution to their issues down the middle. — Thomas Drance, Canucks beat writer
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