The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned forward Andreas Athanasiou to the Rockford IceHogs, it was announced Tuesday.
Athanasiou was placed on waivers Monday and cleared, allowing Chicago to send him to Rockford.
Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, Athanasiou has appeared in five games for the Blackhawks this season where he has gone pointless.
In his second season with the Blackhawks in 2023-24, Athanasiou put up nine points in 28 regular season games.
Across parts of 10 NHL seasons, Athanasiou has played for the Red Wings, Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. In 492 career NHL regular season games, Athanasiou has scored 127 goals and added 118 assists for 245 points.
With Athanasiou being assigned to the minors, this will be the first time he sees AHL ice since the 2015-16 season. While Athanasiou still has the talent to contribute in the NHL, his cap hit of $4.25 million was likely too steep for anyone to consider claiming him on waivers.
Scheduled to hit free agency next summer, if Athanasiou doesn’t get recalled by the Blackhawks, he will likely get another shot with an NHL team in 2025-26.
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