General manager Steve Yzerman added left wing Dominik Kubalik to the Detroit Red Wings’ free agency haul.
Kubalik received a two-year, $5 million deal, which works out to a $2.5 million annual salary cap hit.
Kubalik (6 feet 2, 179 pounds) posted 30 goals as a rookie with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019-20, and has 62 goals and 116 points in 202 games.
He’s the second forward signed by Yzerman on the first day of free agency, joining center Andrew Copp. Yzerman also signed defensemen Ben Chiarot and Olli Määttä.
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Kubalik, 26, fits in with the age group of the “older” core pieces of the rebuild — Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana. Kubalik didn’t match his rookie output in his second and third seasons, but he still posted in the 15-goal range.
It’s a fairly low-risk signing, giving the Wings a potential scorer without committing much in the way of length.
MORE UPDATES: NHL free agency moves for Wings, around the league
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.