Chicago Blackhawks Roster News: Bryan Bickell Reassigned to AHL
Forward Bryan Bickell couldn't capitalize on his chance to remain with the Chicago Blackhawks, which is why the team recently decided to reassign him to the American Hockey League to probably get more playing time and exposure in the ice.
The 29-year-old played in 23 games with the Blackhawks, but couldn't produce any goals with only a couple of assists. With the demotion, he will be going to the AHL, particularly to the Rockford Icehogs, a team he already played for earlier in the year. Multiple reports are saying that his inconsistency has been bothering some front office people and would want to get rid of him.
Bickell's name came to the team's attention when he had a brief but very successful stint in Chicago during its magical run to the Stanley Cup title in 2013. Because of that, the team offered him a long-term contract of four years, which amounted to $16 million. However, the kind of player they expected in 2013 was no longer the one they got the four-year contract to.
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Selected by the Blackhawks as the 41st overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, Bickell so far has produced 14 points, with seven of those as goals and seven as assists together with a +6 plus/minus rating in 12 active games with Rockford. And in the NHL, he so far has 135 points, with 65 of which are goals and 70 are assists for 382 regular season games. He also has substantial playoff and postseason experience, having played 75 of them while totaling 20 goals and 19 assists.
His best years as a pro hockey player were 2010, 2013, and 2015, when his team, the Blackhawks, won the Stanley Cup. But things have changed for him lately, with the demotion coming in after he was placed on waivers a week ago. His subpar performance and inconsistency in the ice were good enough reasons for the team's coaching staff to decide on relegating him the AHL.
