The 25-year-old forward was a restricted free agent. He led all rookies in goals (30) and was third in points (46) in 68 games with the Blackhawks last season, and was voted a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year.
Kubalik scored eight points (four goals, four assists) in nine postseason games. He became the first player in NHL history with five points (two goals, three assists) in his postseason debut, against the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers on Aug. 1.
"To be honest, first talks with my agent were maybe asking for a longer deal," Kubalik said. "I'm still saying I'm still young, but I'm not actually. In today's hockey, when you're 25, it's not young anymore. In talks with my agent, we wanted to stay in Chicago and stay there for longer. For me, both sides should be happy, so that was my first goal. I'm happy, I hope Chicago is happy too. Everything's done, and I'm glad I have two years in my pocket where I know I'm going to play."
He said his focus is on building on a successful first season in the NHL.
"Well, I'm not really trying to put pressure on myself," Kubalik said. "I just know all I can handle is to be ready, to come to training camp and be 100 percent ready. To be successful again is the first goal right now, to show that it wasn't just one season, to keep going, keep getting better, keep playing hard. You're always going to face adversity. You just have to be ready for it, get through. Right now, everybody expects me to score 30 goals again]. I'd like to do it again, but we'll see how it goes."
***[RELATED: [Goalie Malcolm Subban agrees to contract with Blackhawks]*
Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round (No, 191) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Kubalik was traded to Chicago on Jan. 24, 2019.
Goalie
Malcolm Subban
agreed to a
two-year, $1.7 million contract
with the Blackhawks on Friday. It has an average annual value of $850,000.
