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The 35-year old Kuba signed a two-year contact with the Panthers in July and steps into a situation that could allow him to, once again, become a consistent source of points from the blue line. Kuba has averaged 30 points a season over the course of his career and is expected to be a factor in the Panthers power play unit. Kuba may not be the flashiest defender in the game, but his 30-plus point potential makes him an attractive option to round out any roster on draft day. Monitor the situation in training camp carefully, as Florida has Brian Campbell entrenched as their top power-play option with the budding talent of Dmitry Kulikov also in the mix.
Like most of the Senators from 2010-11, Kuba's season was a disaster from the get-go. He broke his ankle on the first day of training camp and didn't return to action until November 13 in a game against Boston. Kuba finished the year with two goals, 14 assists, and a minus-26 rating in 62 games. With only one year left on his contract, he'll need to have a good year in 2011-12 if he hopes to secure further employment in the NHL. He'll likely see time on Ottawa's second power play unit, but at age 34 he's starting to show his age. Don't expect much from the big man, with five goals and 20 assists being his upper ceiling in 2011-12.
Kuba is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he missed 29 games because of a back injury, but he should be fully healthy to start the upcoming season. With the addition of Sergei Gonchar and the emergence of Erik Karlsson, Kuba will lose a lot of minutes on the first power play, but he should still see significant time on the second unit. Don't expect a 40-point season from the big blueliner as he should top out at around 35 points with upwards of five goals.
Kuba, who was arguably Ottawa's best overall defenseman in 2008-09, will spend plenty of time quarterbacking Ottawa's number one power-play unit this season. Ten goals and 30 assists isn't out of the question.
Kuba should be running Ottawa's first power play unit this year and could reach 40 points if all goes well.
Kuba is the Czech streak. He started last season with just a single point in his first eight games and then took off... briefly. Then along came another slow period of just two points in 22 games. Yes, he put up career totals and looked great in the playoffs. But his decline was coupled with the improvements we witnessed in fellow blueliner Paul Ranger. It's Ranger's star that is rising; Kuba will see a decline.
Don't be fooled. This boy with the big shot can't hit the broad side of a barn with that bazooka of his. He'll be counted on more for his defense than his offense this season, so don't expect much more than a top-75 or 100 fantasy blue line performance. And that ain't good enough to even warrant parking him on the pine this year.
Kuba is the Wild defenseman who can score, but took a step back in 2003-04. He scored just 24 points despite playing 77 games. Look for the same 25-to-30 point production this season.
