The Blackhawks’ first arbitration case in more than a decade culminated Sunday in forward Philipp Kurashev being awarded a new two-year contract, per a source.
Kurashev’s deal will carry a $2.25 million salary-cap hit, representing a large raise over his $750,000 salary last season.
The Hawks tendered Kurashev, 23, the requisite qualifying offer back in June to retain his restricted free-agent rights, but Kurashev filed for arbitration and received a hearing scheduled for last Thursday — the earliest possible date.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson had maintained confidence the two sides would get a new deal worked out without much difficulty, as typically happens around the league. Most players who file for arbitration do so purely for leverage and end up signing beforehand.
But Kurashev and his agent, Pat Brisson, ultimately held out until the hearing. That marked the Hawks’ first hearing since Chris Campoli in 2011 and only the fourth hearing league-wide in the last four years. It worked out for him as hoped; the $2.25 million decision was closer to his initial asking price than to the Hawks’ initial offer.
Kurashev produced career highs of nine goals and 25 points in 70 games this past season, his third in the NHL. He responded well to a conversation in spring 2022 in which Davidson told him he needed to find more consistency, and he now has a chance to establish himself as a player the Hawks could keep in their plans after the rebuild.
“He had a really strong year,” Davidson said in April. “[He] established himself as a smart, two-way forward. He can play down the lineup. He can play up the lineup. He’s responsible. He’s got some skill... To me, he’s certainly a bonafide contributor at the NHL level.”
With Kurashev signed, the Hawks might be done with their offseason moves. Davidson will still likely bring in more right-side defensive depth at some point, but he has suggested he might wait until training camp in September to do so.
