Former Oilers Forward Placed On Waivers, Gets Chewed Out By Head Coach
Former Oilers forward Andreas Athansiou will be placed on waivers today by the Chicago Blackhawks, and head coach Luke Richardson didn't hold back his criticism of the player.
Athanasiou has only played 33 games in the last two years, but this assignment to the AHL has nothing to do with injury. The Hawks head coach said the team would be fine to see Athanasiou leave the organization, but if not, he has a problem with overconfidence.
A waiver claim will not happen because of Athanasiou's $4.25M salary, so this is a direct public call out towards the player. It's rare to see a coach call out a player in such a personal manner, and that's exactly what happened here.
Hockey fans who have watched Athanasiou in the past probably understand the frustration. Athanasiou's incredible speed and ability to crash the net make him look like an appealing player, but he has problems with consistency, actually generating dangerous chances, and staying healthy. He score 20 goals with the Hawks two years ago and 30 with the Red Wings in 2018-19, but he's not looking like an NHLer anymore.
The Edmonton Oilers made an expensive trade to acquire Athanasiou at the trade deadline in 2020, and he only played 13 games total with the team before leaving in free agency. In exchange for those 13 games of Andreas Athanasiou, the Oilers gave up Sam Gagner, and the draft picks that ended up being Brock Faber and Aatu Raty. But hey, Ken Holland got his guy.
Four years after that trade, at only 30 years old it looks like Athanasiou's NHL career may be in jeopardy. Perhaps the rebuilding Hawks give him another chance later in the season, but if he continues to be unavailable or a non-factor, he won't be around much longer.
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