Analyst Highlights Key Trade Possibility Between Penguins and Blackhawks for 2025 Season

DeRosa pointed out that the Penguins could be looking to make a move for the 23-year-old Reichel, given their desire to add youth and skill to a lineup currently filled with aging veterans.

With players like Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson involved in trade rumors, the Penguins could target Reichel as a potential return for either one of them, according to the analyst.

Reichel's name has been floating in trade speculation since the start of the offseason. Despite a difficult 2024-25 campaign that saw him produce just eight goals and 22 points in 70 games, the German winger was once considered one of the Blackhawks' top prospects.

His brief 2022-23 stint-where he recorded 15 points in 23 games-showed flashes of the top-six upside that many scouts projected when he was drafted 17th overall in 2020.

Per The Fourth Period:

With over $20 million in cap space and five picks in the first two rounds of next year's draft, they have the flexibility to move quickly.

Reichel, now buried on the fourth line, is the type of expendable asset who might thrive in a different situation, especially with the Penguins, who are in desperate need of fresh legs.

Reichel's development has slowed, but he's still young and has over 100 games of NHL experience. If Chicago wants short-term help and Pittsburgh seeks long-term upside, this is a trade that makes sense and would make both teams better ahead of the next season.