May Lukas Reichel have a Michael Frolik-type career

Lukas Reichel needed a fresh start. The Chicago Blackhawks had to stop dealing with his vicious cycle of inconsistent play.

Thankfully, the parting is amicable.

The Blackhawks fulfilled Reichel's trade request by dealing him to the Vancouver Canucks for a fourth-round pick.

The deal comes at a good time

Vancouver desperately needed forward depth. Reichel was at the part of his struggle cycle where he does not play well once he is elevated up the lines.

For those unfamiliar with the cycle, it would go as follows...
1. Reichel receives a healthy scratch.
2. He eventually works his way back onto the ice, skating on the fourth line.
3. He plays well enough to move up to the first or second line.
4. Plays poorly, loses ice time, and the cycle starts all over again.

His recent play put him somewhere in between parts three and four of the cycle. His ice time was greatly reduced on Thursday night in Tampa after being one of the reasons Ryan McDonagh's goal tied up the game.

This trade ends the Blackhawks having to deal with Reichel's maddeningly inconsistent play. The young forward was immensely talented with the puck. He was one of the few players the Blackhawks had who could bring the puck up the ice and start an offensive cycle.

The issue is that he did not know what to do with the puck the moment he crossed the blue line. His entries did not lead to many goals, and usually he would fumble the puck away.

Although the Blackhawks organization should not be completely absolved from the fact that the former first-round pick did not work out.

He kept getting bounced back and forth between Rockford and Chicago during his first two pro seasons. Then the front office thought he could be the team's long-term second-line center going into his third season. They should have paired him up with Connor Bedard instead. Reichel struggled mightily, and the only role he could ever carve out with the Blackhawks was as a fourth-line winger.

Even then, he was not the strongest defending forward, which is something needed to be a good fourth-line winger.

He always teased the organization that he could be something more. It just never happened, so it was time to end things.

Although being a bottom-six forward who can score 10 to 15 goals a year while killing off penalties is likely the way he will carve out a long NHL career. It is what former Blackhawk Michael Frolik did after the Florida Panthers gave up on him, similar to what Chicago is currently doing with Reichel.

Hoping Reichel can have a Frolik-type career

While Reichel never worked out, his play never reached the point of wishing ill will toward him. Hopefully, he does embrace becoming a defensive-minded forward who can still score a goal here and there.

It is what Frolik did when he was with the Blackhawks last decade.

While Reichel never scored 42 goals in his first two seasons as Frolik did, they both share similar offensive gifts. Frolik experienced a decline after his first two years in the NHL. The Panthers shipped him off to Chicago during the 2010-11 season.

He carved out a niche on the 2013 Stanley Cup-winning team by focusing on being a defensive forward. Frolik was outstanding that year on the penalty kill.

Frolik was traded after that championship season to Winnipeg, where he found his offensive game. By embracing being a bottom-six forward, Frolik was able to revive his career. He then used his next stay to reclaim his offense.

Maybe Reichel could follow a similar path. However, it was never going to happen for him in Chicago. Hopefully, it happens in Vancouver for young Lukas.