Chicago Blackhawks
When Will Dubalik and Blackhawks Do Business? And, At What Price?
When will the Chicago Blackhawks get down to the business of talking Dominik Dubalik’s extension and what does a deal look like?
High on the priority list for the Chicago Blackhawks this offseason is solving their goaltending issues. A close second is getting a contract extension done for winger Dominik Kubalik.
Kubalik is coming off a rookie season with the Blackawks in which he scored 46 points in 68 games. After coming over to the team in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings in January of 2019 (all the Blackhawks gave up was a fifth-round pick, by the way), he became a bright spot in a less-than-stellar 2019-20 season for Chicago. The Blackhawks barely made it into the play-in rounds but surprised many by defeating the Edmonton Oilers. In six games, Kubalik had three goals and three assists. He would go on to stay a factor — eight points in nine games — but the Blackhawks were easily dispatched by a stronger Vegas Golden Knights.
Based on his regular and postseason success, he’s due for a hefty raise. This will be true even in an offseason that will see a lot of players take pay cuts. Scott Powers of The Athletic has suggested Kubalik’s ideal extension could be a 4-year deal at $5-6 million a season and if accurate, that’s a pretty hefty bump on the $925K he makes right now.
But when will the team and the player start talking numbers?
Kubalik Ready to Start Talking
At 25, Kubalik is eligible for salary arbitration as a pending restricted free agent. He says he hasn’t talked extension options with team, nor really thought much about it, but he is preparing to get down to business over the next couple of weeks.
In speaking with Jay Cohen of the Associated Press, Kubalik noted:
“The season just ended, so I’m really happy to be home. It’s going to be probably a conversation with my agent in the next couple days and weeks.
After this year, hopefully, I’m confident that I’m on a good way and I would love to stay in Chicago. So that’s probably all I can say about it right now.”
The negotiations could be tough or they could be very easy.
No doubt, the Blackhawks want to keep him in the fold based on this past season and the likelihood he continues to improve. But, money will not be easy to come by as the franchise has roughly $7 million in cap space available to pay Dubalik, Dylan Strome and figure out their goaltending situation.
If Dubalik is willing to play ball, an extension might not take long and a bridge deal could be part of the equation. If he wants a long-term deal now, Chicago has some rearranging to do.
Next: Would Pietrangelo Consider Short-Term Deal With the Winnipeg Jets?
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