Blackhawks' Athanasiou clears waivers

Chicago Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou cleared waivers Tuesday.

Athanasiou has zero points in five games this season. He carries a $4.25-million cap hit and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The 30-year-old has been a healthy scratch for nine consecutive contests and has played less than 10 minutes in four of his five games.

Athanasiou tallied two goals and nine points last season when he was limited to 28 games because of a groin injury.

"He missed a lot of hockey (last season) and, unfortunately, just not clicking on all cylinders yet this year," Chicago head coach Luke Richardson said, according to WGN Radio's Charlie Roumeliotis. "He hasn't really played a lot of games. So that was the message; if you get picked up, that's probably good for you. ... But if not, we need him to just go play some games and get his skill matched up with his confidence. (The NHL) is really not for that."

Athanasiou signed a two-year, $8.5-million contract extension with the Blackhawks in June 2023 after he registered 20 goals and 40 points in his first season with the team.