All week leading up to Sunday, July 1, we’ll be profiling unrestricted free agents and speculating where they might end up.
Pavel Kubina (D)
Age: 35
2011-12 cap hit: $3.85 million
The skinny:
Considering Philadelphia repeatedly made him a healthy scratch during the playoffs, it’s tough to imagine GM Paul Holmgren bringing him back. Maybe Kubina’s right-handed shot gives him an outside chance, but that’s about it.
Kubina’s served two tours of duty with the Tampa Bay Lightning (who traded him to Philly), so perhaps GM Steve Yzerman gives him another look. As flawed as the big 35-year-old defenseman might be, he has size, a hard shot and the Bolts need as much defensive help as they can get.
Another reasonable suitor is Calgary. If the Flames were willing to give a similarly (but less useful) flawed specimen such as Anton Babchuk a try, Kubina might just make sense.
(And maybe the Carolina Hurricanes should be placed on that dart board because of their previous interest in Babchuk, too.)
All this said, it’s tough to imagine a hot market for Kubina, but it’s almost as tough to imagine his NHL days being over -- unless the KHL comes calling.
More UFA spotlights