Chicago Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev’s arbitration decision has been made, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The 23-year-old will receive a two-year, $2.25M contract. The Blackhawks had filed for a one-year, $1.4M contract, while Kurashev had filed for a two-year, $2.65M pact.
Since this was a player-elected arbitration case, the Blackhawks had the right to choose the term of the contract upon hearing what AAV Kurashev was awarded, meaning the two-year duration was their choosing.
Seeing as this award lines considerably closer to Kurashev’s value than that of the Blackhawks, it appears the arbitrator’s thought process fell more in line with Kurashev and his representatives than with Chicago. In an in-depth breakdown of Kurashev’s arbitration situation, we outlined how he was a more challenging player to value than most others in the NHL.
Kurashev’s versatility and ability to play just about anywhere in the lineup is certainly valuable, but despite playing significant minutes last season, he simply did not post the numbers one would hope such a heavily-used player would have. He scored nine goals and 25 points in 70 games, only a slight increase from the six goals and 21 points he scored the season before.
We pointed to Dillon Dube’s $2.3M AAV contract extension from the Calgary Flames from 2021 as a comparable, and ultimately Kurashev’s award comes just about at that number.
The deal won’t mean much for the Blackhawks in terms of adding difficulty to their salary cap management process, as they still boast quite a bit of room under the NHL’s upper salary limit, and will likely be in the same position next year.
What this decision offers Kurashev is a significant pay raise from the $750k he made in the NHL last season, and it gives the player a two-year runway to continue to develop his game in the NHL and prove he belongs in Chicago long-term as they build towards their Connor Bedard-led era of contention.
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