Blackhawks Expected To Place Andreas Athanasiou On Waivers
11/11/2024 09:14 AM
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Blackhawks will place veteran center Andreas Athanasiou on waivers on Monday. The move will leave Chicago with an open roster spot, although it’s unclear what they plan to do with it.
Athanasiou, 30, was signed to a two-year, $8.5MM extension in 2023 after a resurgent 20-goal, 40-point showing with the Blackhawks the preceding season. The club banked on Athansiou’s demonstrated ceiling when healthy and his historical status as one of the league’s fastest skaters to help energize their top nine through their rebuild, even with injuries limiting Athanasiou to fewer than 70 games all but three times in his decade-long career.
The pending waiver placement underscores how poorly things have gone for Athanasiou in the year-plus since. He missed 53 games last season with a lower-body injury, and while he’s managed to avoid IR this season, he’s still barely played. Athanasiou has no points and is averaging 9:36 per game through five contests, and he’s now sat in the press box for nine straight games dating back to Oct. 22.
More to come…
