[Ben Pope] The Blackhawks have signed Andreas Athanasiou to a 2-year contract with $4.25M cap hit
The Blackhawks have signed Andreas Athanasiou to a 2-year contract with $4.25M cap hit, per a source close to the situation.
Athanasiou gets a nice raise over the $3M he made last year; the Hawks get closer to the cap floor and help support Bedard. Everyone's happy.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) June 7, 2023
by MostMirror
10 Comments
It will be interesting to see if Athanasiou continues to center Reichel as that seemed to work out well late last season. I would have guessed that Bedard would start centering Reichel, but I suppose we will have a better read on that after the draft and free agency.
The $4.25M cap hit helps the Blackhawks get to the cap floor while not jeopardizing any cap space for the future when they plan on being a competitive team. Athanasiou could be a frustrating player to watch at times, in my opinion, but he seemed to fit well with the team.
W
Happytosiou back
I almost wonder if they re-signed him so early and so generously to screw with the free agent market a bit. If contenders end up paying more this summer, that’ll only benefit the Hawks in a few years when those deals start to age badly and up-and-coming teams might have a bit more leverage as a result. Or not, but either way, this deal can’t hurt – gotta make the cap floor next year, and somebody’s got to play.
Bit of an overpay but the short term and the buckets of cap space we have make this a win.
I really liked AA last season and he is a good fit/presence on the team. He will be great with Bedard.
I’m pretty damn happy about this tbh
Solid. Not like jumping for joy, but I get it. Gotta get to the cap floor somehow
Happy to see you!
Cool. Now bring back Max Domi.