The Detroit Red Wings grew weary of Andreas Athanasiou’s inconsistency and traded him the year after he scored 30 goals.
It doesn’t appear much has changed four years later. The Chicago Blackhawks today waived the talented offensive forward who has struggled to find a spot in the lineup even on a rebuilding team.
Athanasiou, 30, has appeared in only five games (no points), none since Oct. 22, and has averaged only 9:35 in ice time.
He tallied 20 goals and 40 points in his first season with the Blackhawks in 2022-23 but injuries limited him to 28 games last season (two goals, seven assists).
Athanasiou is in the final year of his contract and his $4.25 million annual average value likely will preclude him from being claimed. If he clears on Tuesday, he’ll be assigned to AHL Rockford.
“I just think with his injury last year that kept him out a lot of last year, he missed a lot of hockey then and unfortunately just not clicking on all cylinders yet this year,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson told reporters at practice. “So that was the message — if you get picked up, that’s probably good for you. That means you’ll be playing in the NHL. But if not, we need him to just go play some games and get his skill matched up with his confidence. This league is really not for that.”
The Red Wings traded Athanasiou to Edmonton in 2020 for two second-round picks and forward Sam Gagner.
