Bryan Bickell has had a tough time playing with the Blackhawks this season. He began the season on waivers and was sent down to the AHL's Rockford Ice Hogs for a month in order to improve his play. The forward came back to play in the NHL in December, but only a few weeks later, he now finds himself reassigned to Rockford again - Jan. 8 was his last game with Chicago. What does this mean for Bickell's future with Chicago? Is the team trying to get rid of him, or could he return after an improvement in play?
"I don't want to deny him an opportunity to come back here and help us," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, hinting that the 29-year-old could still be called up, according to CSN Chicago.
Bickell's agent, Todd Diamond, has less faith in the organization, and feels a trade may be looming.
"If we are watching things with our eyes open, it's pretty clear that I would say his future is likely not with the Blackhawks," said Diamond according to Second City Hockey. "Hopefully, we can work out a trade. Stan [Bowman, Blackhawks GM] is open to that. But making trading these days in the NHL can be a time-consuming process where in the past you could just move bodies around much easier. Now it's not just a hockey trade, but it's also a financial trade. Sometimes it just takes time. For some teams, every day counts towards the cap. Sometimes it can take a couple days or it can take months."
Bickell himself is not enthusiastic in playing in the AHL for an extended period of time, but the challenge is finding another team willing to take his contract, which "has a $4 million cap hit through the 2016-17 season," according to Second City Hockey. It is a large sum, and with Bickell's less than mediocre productivity, having just two assists in 23 NHL games, it is not expected another team will be happy to take the struggling winger.
"Stan is good to his players and if there is a better opportunity I am sure he will bring it to us," Diamond said, according to CSN. "Trades these days are many times financially driven and that can take time. We will see how things develop this week."
This would not be the first time the Blackhawks have tried to trade Bickell, as they have been wanting to discard his contract since the end of last season.
