It’s time to discuss Andreas Athanasiou and Joey Anderson’s roles with the Blackhawks

One thing remains constant when looking at the Chicago Blackhawks’ lineups for each game: you will see Joey Anderson and Andreas Athanasiou listed as healthy scratches. After Athanasiou received a two-year contract extension in July 2023, it has been filled with adversity. He missed most of last season due to a hip and groin injury, and when he returned, his role was shaky. He went from bottom-six forward to second-line center to third-line center, finishing the season as a center.

With all the roster additions going into this season, someone was going to be pushed out, and Anthansiou was a healthy scratch on opening night and has since only appeared in five of 14 games this season and is now the only player on the Blackhawks’ roster not to have a single point this season. When head coach Luke Richardson put him in games, he played fourth-line and second-line center. But with Lukas Reichel redefining his game, it’s unknown when Athanasiou will return to the lineup.

When it comes to Anderson, he was given a two-year deal in July, and he has had a lot of success as a third-line wing alongside Jason Dickinson, making for one of the most successful defensive duos on the team. Anderson started the season alongside Dickinson again and has 1 assist in 5 games, but since then, Ryan Donato has taken his place, and with him being the team’s leading scorer, Richardson won’t be making him a healthy scratch anytime soon, making Anderson’s spot murky.

So here’s the question. Together, Anderson and Athanasiou have been out of the lineup for seven straight games, and it doesn’t seem like they will enter the lineup unless the team starts faltering and they need a shakeup, or there is an injury. So, where does that leave them and the Blackhawks?

With Athanasiou, he can play center on a team that lacks center depth. He is better off at wing; his faceoff percentage is 48.6%, but he can play the position. He also brings speed, but his offense has been lacking, which is likely what has been keeping him on the outside.

With Anderson, because he has done well with his third-line role, it would be nice to see him back there at some point, but Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, and Teuvo Teravainen are doing okay together. There’s not an easy solution for both of them, but the bottom line is there isn’t a straight path for them to get back in the lineup, and even if they do, it doesn’t seem secure. It makes sense to keep extra players for injury insurance to avoid what happened to them last year, where they had minimal help with a plethora of injuries, but it might also be unwise to have them just sit there.

If the Blackhawks decide that Anderson will be on the outside for even more time, I wonder if the Rockford IceHogs would be on the table again, as they did for him a bit last season. He would have to clear waivers, which might make Chicago hesitant, but it is possible. A trade is possible, too. As for Athanasiou, I wonder if trading him makes sense. With a $4.25 million cap hit, the Blackhawks might have to eat a portion of it to move him, but it only runs through the end of the season, making it easier for other teams to absorb. However, it’s unclear what his market value is at the moment, but I believe it’s worth exploring if they think he doesn’t have a future with Chicago, which seems unspoken at this point.

Overall, Athanasiou and Anderson have gone AWOL and have been forgotten on the roster. It’s time to address it.

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