The Chicago Blackhawks have officially hit the midway point of their season. Through 41 games, the team is 14-25-2 and their 30 points sit dead last in the NHL.
The growing pains this year have certainly shown, and the loss against St. Louis in the Winter Classic perfectly summed up how 2024 was for the team and how this season has gone so far.
A forward for Chicago who broke out last season has struggled to get going this season, and he might be playing his way out of town because of that.
Philipp Kurashev might not be in Chicago for much longer
The center from Switzerland has not had the season that Blackhawks fans envisioned after all of the success he had a year ago. Kurashev scored 18 goals and had 36 assists for 54 total points in the 75 games that he played in last season. He found plenty of success when paired with Connor Bedard and was a huge anchor to get the rookie sensation through his first NHL season.
Fast forward to this year and Kurashev just is not producing. In 30 games, the 25-year-old has three goals and two assists to go along with his -27 plus/minus ranking. To make matters worse, he has been scratched in eight of the Blackhawks’ last ten games. However, Kurashev is expected to draw into the lineup on Friday night on the road against Detroit.
Unfortunately for Kurashev, things just have not broken his way this season. Seeing young names like Frank Nazar and Colton Dach get called up from Rockford to take ice time away from him can’t be a good sign for his future in the Windy City.
Nazar just netted his first goal of the season in Wednesday’s win at home against Colorado, and Dach picked up the primary assist in what turned out to be the game-winner. That assist for Dach happened to be his first point in the NHL as well.
The Blackhawks need to see what they have
The prospects for Chicago will just keep coming up to the show. Nazar and Dach symbolize the surface of what this organization has in terms of prospect depth and things will not get any easier for Kurashev to find ice time down the road.
Guys like Oliver Moore, Marek Vanacker and Sacha Boisvert are still in the wings waiting for their opportunities once they complete their time in college and juniors. The Blackhawks also hold two more first-round picks in this upcoming draft that will both almost certainly go toward the best forwards on the board.
The Chicago Blackhawks could deal Philipp Kurashev at the deadline
Kurashev could easily join two other Chicago forwards who will be on the block for the upcoming trade deadline. Ryan Donato and Taylor Hall are two players that the franchise will be looking to move in the coming months. Both are on expiring deals and each have put together solid campaigns thus far. Based on how much salary the Blackhawks are willing to retain, they could receive as high as a second-round pick for Hall and a third for Donato.
The one issue that the Blackhawks might have in finding a trade partner for Kurashev is that they won’t have much leverage in negotiations. Hall and Donato have been consistent contributors for the most part in Chicago this season, whereas Kurashev hasn’t been. It could be hard to find a team that wants the young forward and even if they do have a match, the return could be way lower than the front office anticipated.
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