Chicago acquired the Czech prospect’s rights from Los Angeles in January.
The Blackhawks signed 23-year-old Czech winger Dominik Kubalik to a one-year contract on Wednesday, the team announced.
General manager Stan Bowman traded the Hawks’ fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Kings in January in order to acquire Kubalik’s NHL rights, and expressed throughout the spring that he expected to sign Kubalik and bring him over to North America for the 2019-20 season.
That seems to now be a reality.
Kubalik has played the last two seasons in the NLA, the top hockey league in Switzerland, and led the league in scoring this past season with 57 points (25 goals, 32 assists) in 50 games.
He also stars on the Czech national team, and tallied a stirring 12 points in 10 games in the just-concluded World Championships as the Czechs made a run to the semifinals.
The six-foot forward joins Anton Wedin as the Hawks’ second European signing this month.
Although Kubalik’s situation differed from that of Wedin, David Kampf and Dominik Kahun (and other recent cross-continental Hawks pickups) in that the Hawks already owned — and had needed to give up something to get — his rights, he adds another notable depth piece to the Hawks’ roster up front.
On the other hand, Wedin and Kubalik’s signings have quietly slid the Hawks into something of a contract conundrum.
The franchise now has 36 players under contract and another nine pending RFAs, whose rights they maintain as long as they issue a qualifying offer next month.
Re-signing all nine RFAs would push them uncomfortably close to the 50-contact maximum, leaving little wiggle room for free agent additions and trades in July and beyond, so expect at least a few RFAs to be left unqualified. Spencer Watson and Blake Hillman could be among the casualties.
