What It Means:

This comes in the wake of Bickell's second demotion of the season. "If we are watching things with our eyes open, it’s pretty clear that I would say his future is likely not with the Blackhawks," said Todd Diamond. "Hopefully, we can work out a trade." Diamond later noted that the trade is no longer a "hockey trade" but rather a financial one. This is accurate, given Bickell's lack of production and $4M cap hit for another season.

Bickell has managed just two assists through 23 games this year, earning a plus/minus of minus-2 while receiving the least amount of Average Time On Ice since the 2009-2010 season. His 52.2 Corsi For Percentage and -2.1 Corsi For Percentage at Even Strength are pretty much in line with his career averages of 52.5 and -2.6, respectively.