The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Red Wings free agent signing Dominik Kubalik in her morning column today, discussing the 26-year-old’s desire to “reset” after a rough couple of seasons in Chicago:
Part of the appeal for Dominik Kubalik was the opportunity to see if he can sync his revival with that of the Detroit Red Wings‘.
He has a 30-goal season to his credit, which is a major reason why Wings general manager Steve Yzerman signed Kubalik for two years and $5 million when the free agent market opened on July 13. Kubalik, who turns 27 in August, was part of a slew of free agents signed by Yzerman.
“When you are on the phone with a guy like him, it’s always nice,” Kubalik said. “We had a good talk, and it helped me a lot to make the decision. I know what he has done in the past with Tampa and what he is doing now with the Red Wings. It’s exciting. I’m there to help. I’m hoping I can do much better than last year. I know it’s in me. I can’t ask for a better opportunity or higher motivation than I have right now.”
Kubalik (6 feet 2, 179 pounds) has 62 goals in 202 NHL games, but after a standout rookie season in 2019-20 (30 goals in 68 games), he hasn’t topped 17 goals in either of the past two seasons.
“First season, the chemistry with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad was amazing and we started clicking,” Kubalik said. “Then we lost Saader (who was traded away in October 2020) and the second season, Toews was out. It wasn’t easy for me to find who I can play with, and I was up and down in the lineup. The second half of the season was much better. Last season, well, the season was up and down pretty much the whole year. We went on a losing streak and it’s hard to get back and get it going. That’s what happened to me — I had some good streaks and some bad moments in the season. Right now, it’s a fresh start and I’m very excited about the opportunity. Hopefully I’m going to start the same way I did in Chicago.”
St. James continues (paywall)…
