Kurashev has an opportunity to build off a breakout season and should earn a lucrative new contract to avoid arbitration.

Philipp Kurashev is going into the final season of his contract that is currently a steal by how he played in 2023-24. The forward will be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility at the end of his deal and is in line for a solid raise, which the Chicago Blackhawks will be able to afford.

Not all of a team’s top talent comes out of the first round. Kurashev is a fourth-round pick that has broken out and earned his spot in the Blackhawks’ top-6, if not the top line after last season. He and Connor Bedard formed great chemistry and that really works to his advantage after the team welcomes Taylor Hall back from injury and added two more top-6 players in free agency.

Kurashev took a big step when the Blackhawks really needed him to. The team finished 31st in the league, but it was a year in which they could afford to give the 24-year-old the room to run with a good opportunity, and he did. Kurashev scored 18 goals and recorded 54 points in 76 games, logging 19 minutes per game. He played a lot on the power play and not so much on the penalty kill despite showing the ability to and doing so in the past.

Kurashev jumped from a career high of nine goals and 25 points in 2022-23 to double his goals and more than twice his points. In doing so, general manager Kyle Davidson had one less thing to worry about and go after in free agency. The team had a young top-6 player who already had chemistry with the generational talent in Bedard.

Kurashev’s current contract has a cap hit of $2.25 million AAV. He’s in the final year of a two-year deal that resulted from an arbitration ruling in July 2023. He is very likely going to start on the top line beside Bedard, but over the course of the 82-game season, coach Luke Richardson may mix forward combination as usual.

Only two young forwards on the Blackhawks proved their worth last season, Kurashev and Bedard. It will come as no surprise when Bedard gets a huge contract, but Kurashev has already taken a step towards earning a big ticket for himself as well.

Some younger comparables to Kurashev that are on the high-end are Troy Terry ($7 million AAV) and Owen Tippett ($6.2 million AAV). But these contracts weren’t just signed either. Someone like Chandler Stephenson just got a new contract at $6.25 million AAV for seven years. Kurashev may be able to provide more than him over the course of his next contract.

A big indicator for next season will be to see how Kurashev matches up to Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Teuvo Teravainen. The latter two just got new contracts and are established, but there also isn’t the expectation for more growth. Kurashev is still getting better and if he can play better than the veteran top-6 wingers, that lines him up for a long-term contract at over $6 million AAV.

Kurashev’s current deal boosted his annual salary from $750,000 to $2.25 million. Davidson probably won’t want to go to arbitration again, so there’s a good chance Kurashev’s next contract will be completed before the end of next season.