Ben Pope
Chicago Blackhawks reporter
Ben Pope covers the Chicago Blackhawks for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Kurashev’s deal will carry a $2.25 million salary-cap hit, representing a big raise over his $750,000 cap hit last season.
While bouncing from the Bruins to Wild to Sharks to Kraken, Donato has gained a versatility that appealed to the Hawks in free agency this summer. He has maintained steady offensive production, too.
The Hawks would be wise to take advantage of Bedard’s mere $950,000 base salary-cap hit for the next three years. Performance bonuses, however, could net Bedard up to $4.5 million.
Kyle Davidson has argued that Kane and Toews’ presences were so enormous that they inadvertently prevented any young Hawks players from growing into leaders themselves.
Moore, whom the Hawks picked 19th in the draft, is already building a culture of competitiveness and maturity alongside top pick Connor Bedard.
Hawks coach Luke Richardson has seen firsthand the impact Perry, at age 38, can have on players half his age. He’ll have to smooth things over with the Hawks’ fan base first, however.
Dach’s shoulder injury, Nazar’s hip surgery and Ludwinski’s ankle injury disrupted their 2022-23 seasons. As they return to full health for 2023-24, they’re hoping for better injury luck.
The Hawks are “very close” to being done, with defensive depth being the only box left to check — and they might wait until training camp to add it. RFA Philipp Kurashev filed for salary arbitration Wednesday, but that was expected.
Bedard jerseys are replacing Kane and Toews jerseys as the standard uniform of any Hawks fan — in Chicago and around the world. But behind that jersey is a down-to-earth 17-year-old kid who just happens to excel at hockey.