The Blackhawks moved quickly to re-sign forward Andreas Athanasiou after his strong finish to this past season.
The Hawks brought back Athanasiou — who had been headed for unrestricted free agency yet again — on a two-year contract with a $4.25 million salary-cap hit on Wednesday, per a source.
The deal gives Athanasiou a nice raise (and extra security) over the one-year, $3 million contract he signed with the Hawks last summer. It also helps the Hawks creep closer to the cap floor — of which they’re still more than $15 million shy — and start building some offensive support for projected No. 1 pick Connor Bedard. All parties should be pleased.
Athanasiou, who will turn 29 in August, put together a solid 2022-23 season in a tough situation, catching fire down the stretch — tallying 20 points in his final 24 games and 12 points in his final eight games — to finish with an even 20 goals and 20 assists in 81 games overall. It was the second-best offensive season of his career.
He struggles at times defensively, but his skating is truly world-class and should complement Bedard well. If Bedard and Athanasiou start 2023-24 on the first line together, it will be interesting to see which one coach Luke Richardson chooses to play center, since Athanasiou’s spring surge was sparked by a surprising move to center.
“Playing center...keeps him moving [and] keeps him thinking out there about what his responsibility is, not about the chance he just missed,” Richardson said in April.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson is just getting started with offseason moves. He’s currently working from the NHL scouting combine in Buffalo, where the Hawks have been interviewing a massive group of upper-tier prospects all week.
Once the team’s focus shifts from scouting to free agency and trades, Davidson will likely bring in additional veteran forward support for Bedard and fellow cornerstone forward prospect Lukas Reichel.
Max Domi — who signed alongside Athanasiou last summer and is represented by the same agent, Darren Ferris — is one strong possibility if he doesn’t re-sign with the Stars.
