Lukas Reichel was traded to the Vancouver Canucks by the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
The 23-year-old forward has four points (two goals, two assists) in five games for the Blackhawks (4-2-2) this season. He had three points (two goals, one assist) in an 8-3 win at the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 15.
“I was fortunate to see him playing in Berlin his draft year. I appreciated his competitiveness, his skillset and his ability to skate,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. “Over the time, you’ve been waiting to see if this guy would be able to take it to the next level and establish himself as an NHL player. It’s been for most of the young players a little bit of an up and down until you establish yourself, but you can see that speed in his game.
“We definitely believe that he has the ability to [play center] here and we’ll definitely give it a try here. It’s our job as an organization and with our coaches and the development staff that we have, it’s our job to help him take his job to the next level. What intrigues us is the speed coming through the neutral zone and his skill level there. Those are the things that make us excited about him, and he’s still young, so I believe there is more to come.”
Reichel was one of six players selected for Germany’s preliminary roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, along with forwards Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, Nico Sturm of the Minnesota Wild and Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators, defenseman Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings, and goalie Philipp Grubauer of the Seattle Kraken.
Selected by Chicago with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Reichel has 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists) in 174 NHL games with the Blackhawks.
“Lukas is a great kid, great person,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said on Saturday. “I think he was really well liked in our locker room, I really enjoyed my time with him. We had tough conversations, and I thought he handled it like a complete pro, so I certainly wish him the best.
“Sometimes you can thrive in different opportunities, and honestly I hope for him that’s the case. He wasn’t going to get that same opportunity here; we made decisions where we had other guys ahead, so hopefully he gets that opportunity [in Vancouver].”
When discussing Reichel, Allvin also mentioned the Canucks (4-4-0) would be without forwards Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimaki for some time. Blueger, who was placed on injured reserve on Friday, would be out “more toward two weeks” with an undisclosed injury, while Lekkerimaki will be out “two to three weeks” with an undisclosed injury. Chytil is in concussion protocol but has been making “some encouraging progress.”
Each forward was injured in a 4-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 19.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report
