The Colorado Avalanche have acquired defenceman Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for blue liner Samuel Girard and a 2028 second round pick.
“First of all, we would like to thank Samuel for all he has done for the Avalanche organization both on and off the ice over the last nine seasons. ‘G’ is a great person and teammate and was a big part of the group that helped our turnaround back in 2017,” said Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland. “We wish him and his family the best of luck in Pittsburgh.
“In Brett, we are acquiring a two-way defenseman who can play up and down the lineup. He logs big minutes in all situations and brings a ton of playoff experience that will help our blue line depth.”
The deal marks the 2nd time that Kulak has been traded this season following a previous deal between the Penguins and Oilers which also featured net minders Stuart Skinner and Tristan Jarry.
Originally drafted in the 4th round (105th overall) by Calgary back in 2012, Kulak has appeared in 636 NHL games, notching 29G, 105A along the way. Meanwhile, Girard ends a 9 year run in Colorado in which he appeared in 583 contests for the Avalanche, and helped the team capture the Stanley Cup back in 2021-22.
Colorado takes on some age in Kulak, 32, but adds some sandpaper to their back end in the deal. The 6’1″ Kulak has 266 career PIMs compared to the 5’10” Girard’s 122. Kulak also is the more physical of the two defenders, having dished out 577 hits over his career compared to Girard’s 473.
The left-shot defenseman also owns the ninth-longest active “Iron Man” streak, with 320 consecutive games played dating back to March 24th, 2022. While the availability is certainly a welcome bonus, it’s likely the playoff pedigree that had Colorado’s front office looking to swing a deal.
Kulak’s 98 playoff games since 2020 are the most in the NHL amongst defencemen, and 2nd most of any skater trailing only Corey Perry (119). He’s thrice been to the Stanley Cup final, once with Montreal, and twice with Edmonton, but has come up agonizingly short each time.
Girard figures to slot in to a bottom 4 role for Pittsburgh and is more aligned with their team’s window to compete at just 27 years old. The Roberval, QC native is in the 6th season of a 7 year deal which sees him earn an average annual value of $5M per year.
Colorado is set to open their post-Olympic schedule on Wednesday against the Utah Mammoth, while the Penguins are off until Thursday when they’ll play host to the New Jersey Devils.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.