Czech winger Dominik Kubalík, 29, has signed a two-year contract with EV Zug, the National League club announced on Friday.

Last season, Kubalík had 52 points in 56 regular-season and playoff games for HC Ambrì-Piotta.

“Dominik is an experienced player with leadership qualities. With his speed, his intelligence and his shot, he strengthens our team on the wing,” said Zug GM Reto Kläy.

The news confirms reports from a month ago that Kläy and Kubalík’s agent were in contact.

A native of Plzeň, Czechia, Kubalík was a seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2013 but, other than two seasons in the OHL, stayed in his home country until 2017, when he went to Switzerland for the first time. In 90 National League regular-season and playoff games between 2017 and 2019, Kubalík had 37 goals and 60 assists for 97 points. In 2018-19, he was the league scoring champion and MVP.

In five NHL seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, Kubalík has 93 goals and 83 assists for 176 points in 357 regular-season games. In his first NHL season with Chicago, the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign, he had 46 points in 68 regular-season games, then eight points in nine playoff games. However, he had only 15 points in 74 games with Ottawa in 2023-24 and, as a result, had trouble attracting contract offers last summer.

Report: Swiss Club Interested In Tomas Tatar, Dominik Kubalik Unhappy with the way his team’s season finished, EV Zug GM Reto Kläy recently spoke to the Swiss media about how he’d like to go about strengthening his team for next season.

Kubalík has made no secret of his desire to return to the NHL. Last year’s contract with Ambrì-Piotta included a clause that would have allowed him to leave the team if he had received an offer from an NHL team by Dec. 15. Although Zug’s announcement wasn’t specific about the details, it appears that his new contract includes the opportunity to accept a potential NHL offer.

“With a player of his caliber, the NHL is, of course, always a topic and we are aware of the risk that Dominik would take the step back to North America should he receive a corresponding offer,” said Kläy.

Internationally, Kubalík has produced big for the Czechs over the years with 46 points in 43 career games at five IIHF World Championships. In 2023, he led the tournament with eight goals and was a forward on the tournament all-star team. He also had two points in five games for the Czechs at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Martin Nečas Says Yes; Czechs Take 25 To Denmark The Czech roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship is starting to come together. A week ago, David Pastrňák confirmed he would play and on Tuesday, at the team’s end-of-season press conference, Colorado Avalanche GM Chris McFarlane confirmed that Martin Nečas would be going as well.