Over the weekend, the two arbitration cases that went to hearings were both decided and the teams accepted the terms outlined by the independent adjudicator. The first was for Chicago forward Philipp Kurashev, who signed a two-year, $4.5 million (total) contract. The arbitrator awarded Kurashev $2.25 million per season while the Blackhawks were able to choose the two-year term. The 23-year-old had submitted a two-year term for $2.65 per season while Chicago had countered with a one-year, $1.4 million deal. Chicago still has about $13 million in cap space following the deal.
The more interesting, and financially troublesome, award went to Ilya Samsonov of the Toronto Maple Leafs.