Will Blackhawks keep Philipp Kurashev with Connor Bedard next season?

The smile on Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev’s face after both of his goals Tuesday against the Ducks was bright enough to illuminate the entire United Center.

Nobody has benefitted more from Connor Bedard’s presence than Kurashev, who only needed to pound the puck into two gaping nets after Bedard drew all of the defense’s attention, then set up Bedard with pinpoint seam passes.

After slowly increasing his production through his first three NHL seasons — from 16 to 21 to 25 points — Kurashev already has accumulated 40 points this season. And 31 have been recorded while on the ice with Bedard.

Kurashev is on pace to finish with 51 points in 75 games, easily second on the team, and if the Hawks keep surging offensively, he could surpass that. If he was a pending restricted free agent this summer, he would be trending toward a life-changing payday. But he signed a two-year contract (with a $2.25 million salary-cap hit) as an RFA last summer.

It would be easy to dismiss his success as entirely created by Bedard, but the truth is Bedard and Kurashev work well together. Other players the Hawks gave stints on Bedard’s wing — such as Ryan Donato, Lukas Reichel and Anthony Beauvillier — didn’t enjoy nearly as much success.

Some very real, very tangible chemistry exists between the 18-year-old Canadian and the 24-year-old Swiss.

“They have a cool bond, the way they talk to each other,” said Nick Foligno, the third man on their line most of the season. “You need that. You need a guy you play off of and understand and [who] you can gravitate toward. That’s awesome they both have that. ‘Kursh’ has really excelled because of that too, right? He’s got a guy that sees the game at a level he’s trying to get to. It’s really pushed him as a player.”

Added Bedard: “Man, I love playing with him. He’s so skilled. The best part is we’re always talking about plays and, even in practice, working on stuff together. That makes it so much fun and makes it a little easier to build chemistry.”

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This was not the Hawks’ original plan, though. They brought in Taylor Hall last summer with the explicit, almost singular intention of him mentoring Bedard on and off the ice. The other winger initially slotted opposite Hall was Donato. There was a sense Reichel and Andreas Athanasiou could be interesting options there, too. Kurashev emerged as Bedard’s best linemate somewhat unexpectedly.

With 16 games left in this season and attention starting to shift toward 2024-25, it’s worth raising this question: Will Kurashev get to stay with Bedard next season?

There’s no question he will face significantly renewed competition for the role. Athanasiou excelled in his Tuesday return from injury and could receive a first-line look during the stretch run. Hall has resumed skating and should be healthy by next season. Foligno will still be around. The Hawks have a chance, albeit relatively slim, of drafting Macklin Celebrini. And the Hawks will likely sign a couple free-agent forwards this summer, albeit not top-tier guys.

Translating chemistry from one season to another is often easier said than done, too. Last spring, Athanasiou and Reichel were thriving together; that didn’t carry over to this fall whatsoever.

The third issue is defense. For all of Bedard and Kurashev’s pretty passes, the Hawks have been outscored 41-23 during their five-on-five ice time together, whereas they’ve only been outscored 12-9 during Bedard’s time without Kurashev. Kurashev isn’t perceived as a defensively irresponsible player, but his analytics throughout his career have indicated otherwise.

So, will their chemistry prevail? Or will coach Luke Richardson orchestrate a breakup? It’ll be an interesting situation to monitor in training camp, come September.