The Blackhawks Draft Lottery Day Excitement

The Blackhawks had a busy day during the draft lottery with extending one player and learning which spot in which they would draft another

Hey, Blackhawks Fans!

I don’t know what it is about “draft days” by general manager Kyle Davidson seems to love them. He gave Alex Vlasic a contract extension on the day of the NFL Draft (when the Chicago Bears drafted first overall - woohoo!), and then the NHL Draft Lottery Day was no different. First, he gave a contract extension to Lukas Reichel and then found out the fate of where the Blackhawks would pick in the draft on June 28th, and dang, it’s exciting!

It’s been close to 24 hours since everything happened. Let’s digest all this news, shall we?

Lukas Reichel Extension is a Win

The Blackhawks gave Reichel a two-year ($1.2 million AAV) contract extension, and that was a no-brainer. Obviously, Reichel literally could not have had a worse season in a contract year if he tried. He had 10 points in 50 games and was sent to the Rockford IceHogs in February. He was recalled after 9 games, and finished the season with 6 points in his last 13 games in Chicago. He scored a goal in the Blackhawks’ season finale against the Los Angeles Kings, and I mean, way to go for ending the season on a high note.

He worked hard to try to turn his season around when he returned, and then the Blackhawks decided to send him to Rockford for the AHL playoffs. Unfortunately, Rockford got eliminated in a best of five series (3-1), against the Grand Rapids Griffins, but Reichel did show up. He had two goals in the game when Rockford’s season was on the line. It wasn’t enough for them to win, but goodness, did he try.