It’s been almost three weeks since Andreas Athanasiou suited up for an NHL game, but that is about to change. The Los Angeles Kings have activated the speedy forward from the non-roster/COVID-19 protocol and announced he is available for tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars.
Athanasiou, 27, has played in just eight games this season after missing all of October with an injury. He has five points in those games and looked ready to build on the solid season he had for Los Angeles in 2020-21, when he had 10 goals and 23 points in 47 games. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, it was a good way to build back some of his value after the disappearing act he pulled in Edmonton.
Acquired at the 2020 deadline for two second-round draft picks, Athanasiou would register just two points in nine regular season games for the Oilers, zero in four playoff games and then failed to receive a qualifying offer from the team. He signed a one-year, $1.2MM deal with the Kings just before the 2020-21 season kicked off, and landed new a one-year, $2.7MM deal in July.
Importantly, Athanasiou is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, meaning getting him back up to full speed is important to the Kings on two fronts. First, he should be able to add some more offense to a group that has struggled to score at times, but beyond that, he’ll also be a top trade chip should the team fall out of the playoff race entirely. With the Kings sitting at 10-10-4 after a poor recent stretch, those kinds of decisions have to be creeping into the minds of general manager Rob Blake and his staff.
Put him on the top line with Kopitar and Kempe. Move Brown down to the 3rd line.