The Chicago Blackhawks today announced the team has agreed to terms on one-year contract extensions with the defenseman Caleb Jones ($1,350,000 salary cap hit) and forward Philip Kurashev (FIHL-ihp KUHR-uh-shehv; $750,000 salary cap hit) that each run through the 2022-23 season.
Jones, 25, made his Blackhawks debut last season, setting career highs in goals (5), assists (10) and points (15) in 51 contests. With his brother Seth also in the lineup, the duo were the first set of brothers to play for Chicago simultaneously since Brent and Rich Sutter, whose final game in the lineup together was on Feb. 20, 1995.
The 6-foot-1, 194-pound blueliner has skated in 144 career NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers (2018-21) and Blackhawks, totaling 34 points (10G, 24A). He’s also recorded 57 points (11G, 46A) in 125 career American Hockey League games, all with the Bakersfield Condors.
The Arlington, Texas native was originally traded to the Blackhawks by the Oilers with a conditional pick in the 2022 NHL Draft in exchange for Duncan Keith and Tim Soderlund on July 12, 2021. He was originally drafted by the Oilers in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Kurashev, 22, played in his second NHL season with the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 campaign, setting career bests in assists (15) and points (21) through 67 contests. He also skated in three games with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League, totaling three points (2G, 1A). The Münsingen, Switzerland native played for his country in the 2022 IIHF World Championship, tallying four points (1G, 3A) in eight games.
The 6-foot, 190-pound forward has skated in 121 career NHL games with the Blackhawks, compiling 37 points (14G, 23A). Kurashev has also scored nine goals and 13 helpers in 42 career AHL games over three seasons with the IceHogs.
Kurashev was originally drafted by the Blackhawks in the fourth round (120th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft.