It may be rash to say it is time for the Chicago Blackhawks to give up on Philipp Kurashev considering he is 25 and had 54 points last season.
However, his decline has been so rapid that is has gone from startling to just downright unacceptable.
Losing his roster spot is what he deserves after the lack of effort he had last night against Detroit.
Want to see a comical lack of effort from Philipp Kurashev? pic.twitter.com/ljILdXpUUi
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 11, 2025
You lose the benefit of the doubt playing like that after just getting back into the lineup. That is why it is time to stop juggling him between healthy scratch and playing on the bottom lines.
It is time for him to go.
Waive him, trade him, do whatever, but this is a player clearly not interested in fighting his way back into the light. The message of sending him to the press box to step up his game is not working.
Asked Anders Sorensen if he expressed his disappointment to Philipp Kurashev about his performance Friday against the Red Wings:
“I think he knows. We’ll talk to him today about it.” pic.twitter.com/3ZFGLLEmsh
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) January 11, 2025
Lukas Reichel throughout all of his inconsistencies and struggles over the past two seasons never put on that type of lackadaisical performance. In fact, he became more tentative as he lost confidence.
Kurashev’s confidence could be shot as he goes through his career-worst season, but act like you want to keep your NHL dreams alive.
After being scratched for multiple games, the messaging to Philipp Kurashev getting back in the #Blackhawks lineup was about compete level and efforts
Last night wasn’t it pic.twitter.com/iz6zSvbxqt
— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) January 11, 2025
If the team has to risk losing him by waiving him just to get Kurashev to Rockford where he belongs, so be it. Plus, he is set for restricted free agency after the season and it does not sound like he will be tendered a contract (a subscription is required to access the content linked).
If the team is prepared to lose him for nothing at the end of season, why not just get it over with now?
He is not going to turn things around anytime soon. Cole Guttman has been playing his butt off in Rockford. Reward him with an NHL call-up. At least, he will try.
Kurashev has indicated he does not want to fight for his NHL career with the Blackhawks with how he played against the Red Wings.
Kurashev has no trade value right now being a -28 with five points. That plus/minus stat might be poorly calculated when it comes to a forward and outdated to even be applied to a winger, but it sometimes can be an indication of just how bad a player has become.
You can live with his -44 when he scores 18 goals and registers 36 assists as he did in 2023-24. Also, a CF% of 49.3 and a 6.7 Relative Corsi For at even strength make up for being a -44 last season.
Right now, his CF% is 42.1 and he is -3.3 Relative Corsi For at even strength. That is terrible. Then pretending to play hockey after being scratched a lot lately is just the final straw.
He should realize he cannot play like that even if he hates his decline in production and down the lines. The Blackhawks have way too many forward prospects to easily dump him and not miss him in the least.
Kurashev should not be in the doghouse, he should be off the team.
