Czech
winger Dominik Kubalík,
29,
has signed a two-year contract with EV Zug,
the National League club announced on Friday.
Last
season, Kubalík
had
52 points in 56 regular-season and playoff games
for HC Ambrì-Piotta.
“Dominik
is an experienced player with leadership qualities. With his speed,
his intelligence and his shot, he strengthens our team on
the
wing,” said Zug GM
Reto Kläy.
The news confirms reports from a
month ago that Kläy
and Kubalík’s
agent were in contact.
A
native of Plzeň, Czechia, Kubalík was a seventh-round pick of the
Los Angeles Kings
in 2013 but, other than two seasons in the OHL,
stayed in his home country until 2017, when he went to Switzerland
for the first time. In 90 National League regular-season and playoff
games between 2017 and 2019, Kubalík had 37 goals and 60 assists for
97 points. In 2018-19, he was the league scoring champion and MVP.
In five NHL seasons with the Chicago
Blackhawks, Detroit
Red Wings and Ottawa
Senators, Kubalík has 93 goals and 83 assists for 176 points in
357 regular-season games. In his first NHL season with Chicago, the
pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign, he had 46 points in 68
regular-season games, then eight points in nine playoff games.
However, he had only 15 points in 74 games with Ottawa in 2023-24
and, as a result, had trouble attracting contract offers last summer.
Report: Swiss Club Interested In Tomas Tatar, Dominik Kubalik
Unhappy with the way his team’s season finished, EV Zug GM Reto
Kläy recently spoke to the Swiss media about how he’d like to go
about strengthening his team for next season.
Kubalík has made
no secret of his desire to return to the NHL. Last year’s
contract with Ambrì-Piotta
included a
clause that would have allowed him to leave the team if he had
received an offer from an NHL team by Dec. 15. Although Zug’s
announcement wasn’t specific about the details, it appears that his
new contract includes
the opportunity to accept a potential NHL offer.
“With
a player of his caliber, the NHL is, of course, always a topic and we
are aware of the risk that Dominik would take the step back to North
America should he receive a corresponding offer,” said
Kläy.
Internationally, Kubalík has produced
big for the Czechs over the years with 46 points in 43 career games
at five IIHF World Championships. In 2023, he led the tournament with
eight goals and was a forward on the tournament all-star team. He
also had two points in five games for the Czechs at the 2018 Winter
Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Martin Nečas Says Yes; Czechs Take 25 To Denmark
The
Czech roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship is starting to
come together. A week ago, David
Pastrňák confirmed he would play and on Tuesday, at
the team’s end-of-season press conference, Colorado Avalanche
GM Chris McFarlane confirmed that Martin Nečas would be going as
well.
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