Anthony Beauvillier Is Blackhawks’ Wild Card for Rest of Season

When looking at players that could be wild cards for the Chicago Blackhawks with 25 games remaining, it’s tough to nail it down. Most of these players, like Taylor Raddysh and Ryan Donato, already showed what their season has been like, with some solid moments but mostly struggles, which makes it hard to believe a significant change in production is coming (although not impossible!).

Therefore, when looking at the roster, especially the upcoming free agents, it’s hard to expect some to make a statement, but there is one that could: Anthony Beauvillier. After missing over a month with a left wrist injury, he looks to make a do-over of a first impression for the remainder of the season.

Beauvillier’s Rollercoaster Blackhawks Start

The Blackhawks acquired Beauvillier on Nov. 28 from the Vancouver Canucks, and it was a desperation trade. The Blackhawks had just terminated Corey Perry’s contract, and they were missing three other forwards (Taylor Hall, Andreas Athanasiou, Cole Guttman) due to injury, so they needed a player ASAP. The Canucks were happy to give Beauvillier a fresh start after he received limited minutes on the fourth line of the best team in the NHL. So, it’s not like he was a player that the Hawks were targeting for years; it was more of a trade of necessity, but one they also knew could work in their favor, knowing that he was a former first-round draft pick with skill and ability that the other players on the team did not possess, being versatility, goal-scoring ability, and two-way play.

Related: Anthony Beauvillier Has Opportunity to Prove Blackhawks Right

Beauvillier made his Blackhawks’ debut on Dec. 2 against the Winnipeg Jets and was placed on the first line with Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev. He had two shots on goal in over 16 minutes of ice time and won 50% of faceoffs, even though he was on the line as a left wing. Although they lost that game 3-1, he showed strong playmaking ability early in the lineup. He got his first goal four games into his Blackhawks’ tenure against the St. Louis Blues and looked like he could be a solid compliment to the top six as he showed a tool the team has been missing on that goal: net-front presence. He had six points in 15 games before injuring his wrist, and before then, he was shuffling between the second and third line.

Because it was such a small sample size before he got injured, it’s hard to gauge…