Kubalik moves again after one year in Detroit, traded to Ottawa for DeBrincat

Dominik Kubalík will add a third team to his overseas resume. Detroit traded him to the Ottawa Senators for Alex DeBrincat and the Pilsen native is moving to Canada for the first time in his career.

Kubalík shined after his arrival in the NHL, scoring 34 goals and adding 20 assists in his first year with Chicago. His production dropped by half after that, however, and he recorded 17+21 and 15+17 in the following seasons and signed as a free agent in Detroit last summer.

There, he expanded the Czech colony, joining Filip Hronk, Filip Zadina and Jakub Vrana. The Czech back was traded during the season to Vancouver, Vrana went to St. Louis, and Zadina opted out of his contract.

Kubalik was the last Czech in Hockeytown, but he won’t play for the Red Wings either. Detroit traded him to Ottawa for Alex DeBrincat, while Detroit will also add young defenseman Donovan Sebrang, a conditional first-round pick and a fourth-round pick in the next draft.

The Czech forward is well acquainted with DeBrincat, as they played together last year in Chicago. The Michigan native moved to Ottawa last year after five seasons in Chicago, but after just one year he made it clear he didn’t want to stay in Canada and general manager Pierre Dorion had to look for a trade.

The 25-year-old forward has twice surpassed the 40-goal mark (2018/19, 2021/22), set a personal best in assists (39) and added 27 goals last season.

Kubalik wandered through the lineup in Detroit, playing on the first line for a while, then the second line, the third line and even tried the fourth line. He ended up with 20 goals and 25 assists in 81 games.

His confidence may have been boosted by the World Championship, where he was the tournament’s top scorer. It will be interesting to see how he performs in a Senators uniform.

Source: NHL, Twitter