Kyle Cumiskey, defenseman
2014-15 cap hit: $600,000 | Age: 28 | Season stats: 0 points, minus-1, 7 games
Season recap: Cumiskey signed with the Chicago Blackhawks last offseason after spending two seasons in Sweden. He had gotten his confidence back and was looking for another shot in the NHL. He ended spending the majority of the season in the AHL, but he did receive a few opportunities to play for the Blackhawks. He appeared in seven regular-season games and nine playoff games. He didn’t get a lot of ice time in the playoffs, but he played a role on a Stanley Cup-winning team. He was also the Rockford IceHogs’ defenseman of the year in the AHL.
Season highlight: Cumiskey played in nine playoffs game in the Western Conference finals and Stanley Cup finals after spending most of the season with the IceHogs.
Season lowlight: Cumiskey was hopeful for more NHL time this season.
Final grade: C.
Inside the numbers: Cumiskey played a season-high 18:34 in the Blackhawks’ triple-overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
Quotes: Jonathan Toews: “I think that’s what it takes to win in the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup is some guys like that paying the price that go a couple of months unheard of, but they’re working just as hard as anybody and they’re contributing just as much as anybody. So for a guy like Kyle, yeah, absolutely, he’s an amazingly skilled player. If he happens to get the chance to step in, there’s no doubt the confidence in this room and we have confidence in a guy like that, so we’ll see what happens.”
What’s next: Cumiskey becomes an unrestricted free agent. He’s proven he can play in the NHL again. He may look for a team where he has better chance of playing time.
