Since signing a two-year contract with a $4.25 million salary-cap hit in summer 2023, Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou has appeared in only 33 games and scored only two goals.
The contract has been total whiff for Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson, who struck gold when signing Athanasiou the first time (to a one-year contract with a $3 million cap hit in summer 2022) but struck granite the second time.
The Hawks finally placed Athanasiou on waivers Monday, then assigned to AHL Rockford on Tuesday after he unsurprisingly cleared. No other franchise would ever have considered claiming him with that cap hit.
“We need him to just go play some games and get his skill matched up with his confidence,” coach Luke Richardson said Monday. “That’s sometimes not fun or easy to hear, but when people go through the hard ways to get back to where they want to be…it’s pretty gratifying.”
Last season, most of Athanasiou’s missed time was due to a groin injury that sidelined him from November to March, and there was optimism he could rediscover his old form once he returned. After all, he was the leading scorer left on the Hawks’ roster at the end of 2022-23, recording 20 goals and 20 assists that season.
That didn’t prove to be the case. He tallied five points in 17 games down the stretch last season, and then found himself unable to regularly crack the Hawks’ improved lineup this season, sitting out as a healthy scratch in all but five games (tallying zero points).
The injury might have permanently reduced his blazing speed — the one trait that had historically made him a useful player — and Richardson has clearly lost trust in him. His defensive deficiencies make him difficult to deploy in a bottom-six role, and his brief October tryout as the Hawks’ second-line center was abandoned quickly.
“I talked to him,” captain Nick Foligno said. “I think he’s disappointed. He has been a good teammate. He has handled himself really well through not playing. That’s the unfortunate part of the business.”
In Rockford, Athanasiou could be a dynamic linemate for top prospect Frank Nazar — at least against AHL-caliber defenses — and his cap hit will reduce slightly to $3.1 million. But it will still be an ugly mark on the Hawks’ books.
Fortunately, the Hawks aren’t tight to the cap ceiling, with about $5.8 million of space right now (per PuckPedia). They’re also unlikely to add any additional salary, since they’ll almost certainly be sellers again at the trade deadline, so that wasted money won’t matter much.
But in future seasons — once the Hawks are trying to contend, entering seasons close to the cap and seeking to acquire extra talent near the deadlines — Davidson will desperately need to avoid mistakes like Athanasiou’s contract.
The same goes for T.J. Brodie’s contract, which might be even worse because the veteran defenseman — who has largely fallen out of the Hawks’ rotation — has not one but two years remaining at $3.75 million.
In an alternate universe, those wasted millions could prevent the Hawks from acquiring a much-needed role filler for a playoff push, or squeeze them into a jam that prevents them from calling up short-term injury replacements.
Inevitably, Davidson will make some ill-advised signings in the future. The NHL’s guaranteed contract structure and the unpredictability of player performance make 100% financial efficiency impossible. However, minimizing the number of those will be crucial.
The Hurricanes provide a great model. They’re an elite team every year in part because they have zero buried or bought-out contracts, zero retained-salary commitments, no egregiously overpaid players and quite a few below-market-value contracts.
Davidson often mentions how much he appreciates and values cap flexibility, which is a good sign. Soon, he’ll need to demonstrate he knows how to preserve it.