Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson calls out 54-point player: he will likely be a healthy scratch
Chicago Blackhawks head coach, Luke Richardson, announced center Philipp Kurashev would likely be a healthy scratch for the team against the Vancouver Canucks.
Kurashev's absence from the lineup was originally due to a wrist injury he sustained in the preseason playing against the St. Louis Blues, going down hard and having to miss time. He has since recovered from the injury, unlike fellow defenseman Alec Martinez who has been placed on IR, but hasn't found his way back into the starting lineup at the coaches' discretion.
Richardson, who has been the head coach of the team since 2022 and lead the team to a 50-103-14 record throughout his tenure, has focused on bringing the team through a rebuild. His decision to take Kurashev out of the lineup is one of many that reflect the teams' commitment towards rebuilding, such as rumors of former 1st overall pick Taylor Hall being traded away heating up.
Despite this early change in roster building, Kurashev is coming off a very successful 2023-24 season, where he enjoyed a breakout year, playing 75 games, recording 18 goals and 36 assists, making for a total of 54 points and the teams' second highest goal scorer behind rookie star Connor Bedard. A significant improvement from his previous season, where he notched 9 goals and 16 assists, a total of 25 points, in 70 games.
It's unlikely that Richardson won't end up putting Kurashev back into the lineup, sooner rather than later. However, with a recently healed wrist, coming off a 54 point season, its certain if Chicago decide they'd like to move in a different direction from Kurashev, there are plenty of teams that would be salivating at the opportunity to snatch him from their ranks.
Will Kurashev make it back onto the team? Or will he be suiting up for Rockford in the near future?
