The Chicago Blackhawks have officially reached July. The draft is in the rear-view mirror, and NHL teams only have free agency and trades left to improve their franchises.
On Monday, the last day of June, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reported the news that the Blackhawks have extended qualifying offers to Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier, and Arvid Soderblom. All of them remain restricted free agents.
Philipp Kurashev did not receive one and will become an unrestricted free agent. This will likely end his five-year tenure in Chicago, the team that drafted him.
Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) on XBlackhawks have given qualifying offers to Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier and Arvid Soderblom, per source.
They all remain RFAs. Crevier and Soderblom have arbitration rights. Kaiser does not.
Philipp Kurashev was not qualified and becomes a UFA.Kaiser and Crevier are defensemen who will likely rotate in and out of Chicago’s lineup during the 2025-26 season. They are both solid and deserve playing time. Each of them may even get some games in the AHL to stay fresh. Chicago has a lot of serviceable defenders, which is a good problem to have.
As for Soderblom, unless the Blackhawks make a move on an established veteran goalie, an extension would likely mean an opportunity to be Spencer Knight’s backup in 2025-26.
Soderblom had an outstanding year in different roles for Chicago. Whether he was the number one, the backup, or splitting time at any point in the year, the Hawks knew that they had a reliable player between the pipes.
As for Kurashev, he fell out of favor with the current folks in charge. After a strong 2023-24 season that saw him have 18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points in 75 games, he took a major step back with just 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points in 51 games in 2024-25. He was mostly a healthy scratch down the stretch.
Kurashev will find work elsewhere. Another team will give him a chance based on his good moments in the past. Kyle Davidson and his staff are much more focused on players that they brought into the organization.
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