Philip Kurashev's weird Arbitration Experience With the Blackhawks

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Joshua Deeds
September 30, 2023 (8:57 PM)

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Sometimes NHL players must file for arbitration in order to obtain a deal close to what they deserve. In this summer's ordeal, Philip Kurashev found himself in an entirely unexpected situation.

Other players warned the 23-year-old forward not to attend the hearing and to let his agent handle everything. Kurashev decided to take a chance and approach it positively.

"Of course it's something you don't really want to do"

However, Kurashev approached the hearing with the right attitude: it's just business.

"Of course it's something you don't really want to do, but I didn't know what to expect at all," Kurashev told Blackhawks Insider Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. "I talked with some people who did it before so they kind of told me, but still, you don't know what comes.

"It was definitely a different experience. It's weird, but it's part of the business. It's nothing personal, that's just how it is."

"You always hear the stories about how it is, right?" Kurashev said. "But at the end of the day, you don't have to take it personally, you don't have to take everything they say to heart and just try to focus on what you know about yourself and what you think about yourself, because that's the most important."

In the long run, Kurashev would benefit from the filing as he would receive $2.2 Million AAV for two years. His request for one year at $2.65 Million and the team's request for two years at $1.4 Million AAV differed slightly.

"I don't have any bad feelings or anything like that to anyone. It was an experience and I learned a lot about the business. It was interesting, but I'm glad it's over with and hopefully that's the last time that happens."

After all, it may have been strange, but it paid off for the Chicago Blackhawks and now he can contribute again.