Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman is a busy man.
The Blackhawks announced Wednesday that they have re-signed forward Richard Panik to a one-year deal. The news comes shortly after a massive trade which sent Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell to the Carolina Hurricanes for a pair of draft picks.
Chicago Blackhawks Re-sign Richard Panik for One Year
Panik, 25, played in 30 games with Chicago and racked up eight points (6G, 2A). He was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a January 3rd deal for forward Jeremy Morin.
The Slovakian winger was particularly efficient down the stretch for the Blackhawks. He played in six playoff games, generating three assists against the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the postseason.
Panik has put up 25 goals and 22 assists in 181 career NHL games. The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Panik with the 52nd pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Panik spent time with the Norfolk Admirals and the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League. He captured a Calder Cup with Norfolk during the 2011-2012 season. Panik played his first NHL game on February 12th, 2013 with the Lightning.
He was picked up by the Leafs after being waived by Tampa Bay at the beginning of the 2014-2015 season. In his first season in Toronto, Panik registered a career-high eleven goals in 76 appearances. In 2015-2016, Panik failed to crack the line-up after training camp. This resulted in a demotion to the Toronto Marlies. His impressive play in the AHL (9G, 16A in 33 games) was intriguing enough for Bowman and the Hawks to take a shot on him.
Perhaps Richard Panik’s performance in the late stages of the 2015-2016 campaign is a sign of future stability for him. He fits in well in a Blackhawks locker room that thrives on two-way consistency.
