Bickell began practicing with the Hurricanes again in January 2017. The Hurricanes assigned him to the Charlotte Checkers for conditioning on February 24. Bickell returned to the Hurricanes on April 5 and skated in his first NHL game since leaving for MS treatment in November. Bickell played the final game of his career on April 9, scoring the only shootout goal of his career in the Hurricanes' 4−3 win against the Flyers. He concluded his NHL career with 66 goals and 70 assists over 395 NHL games. He also tallied 20 goals and 19 assists in 75 postseason games.