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Brett Kulak

#27 · Defence · Colorado Avalanche

Born Jan 6, 1994 in Edmonton, Alberta, CAN (age 32) · 6'1", 192 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 105th overall in 2012 by CGY (round 4)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2016-17. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Michal Rozsival CHI · 3 P in 22 GP Scott Harrington CBJ · 3 P in 22 GP Clayton Stoner ANA · 3 P in 14 GP Gustav Olofsson MIN · 3 P in 13 GP Karl Stollery NJD · 3 P in 11 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

05101520252014-15: 0 points014-152015-16: 0 points015-162016-17: 3 points316-172017-18: 8 points817-182018-19: 17 points1718-192019-20: 7 points719-202020-21: 8 points820-212021-22: 21 points2121-222022-23: 20 points2022-232023-24: 16 points1623-242024-25: 25 points2524-252025-26: 12 points1225-262026-27: 3 points326-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2014-15 CGY 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.00 $657K
2015-16 CGY 8 0 0 0 -2 0 9 2 0.00 $657K
2016-17 CGY 21 0 3 3 -3 12 19 14 0.14 $657K
2017-18 CGY 71 2 6 8 -3 27 73 45 0.11 $650K
2018-19 MTL 57 6 11 17 12 31 102 107 0.30 $900K
2019-20 MTL 56 0 7 7 -1 12 101 59 0.13 $1.85M
2020-21 MTL 46 2 6 8 3 20 57 28 0.17 $1.85M
2021-22 MTL 56 3 10 13 -10 33 63 64 0.23 $1.85M
2021-22 EDM 18 2 6 8 6 12 29 39 0.44
2022-23 EDM 82 3 17 20 11 41 114 105 0.24 $2.75M
2023-24 EDM 82 3 13 16 0 30 94 77 0.20 $2.75M
2024-25 EDM 82 7 18 25 -7 18 135 28 0.30 $2.75M
2025-26 EDM 31 0 2 2 -7 10 33 4 0.06 $2.75M
2025-26 PIT 25 1 6 7 2 18 29 5 0.28
2025-26 COL 27 0 3 3 1 10 33 10 0.11
2026-27 COL 4 0 3 3 1 0 2 1 0.75 $4.5M
13 seasons Career 667 29 111 140 3 276 893 588 0.21

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2019-20 MTL 10 0 3 3 2 0 19 12 0.30
2020-21 MTL 13 0 1 1 -4 4 11 12 0.08
2021-22 EDM 16 0 5 5 7 12 18 31 0.31
2022-23 EDM 12 1 1 2 3 9 19 12 0.17
2023-24 EDM 25 1 7 8 -3 14 21 23 0.32
2024-25 EDM 22 1 4 5 9 8 25 17 0.23
2025-26 COL 13 1 4 5 1 6 12 5 0.38
7 seasons Playoffs 111 4 25 29 15 53 125 112 0.26

2016-17 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
21 0 3 3 -3 12 19 14 0.14 0.0 14:15

Contract

$657KCap hitends in 2017, then RFA
$219KCap dollars per point3 points in 21 games
$95KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$562KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 664 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Calgary Flames on Mar 18, 2014, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.45M, beginning in 2014-15. It runs through 2016-17, so this is its last season, after which he is a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2014-15 $657K $550K $85K $215K $635K
2015-16 $657K $575K $80K $145K $655K
2016-17 $657K $600K $80K $120K $680K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jun 26, 2026 Colorado Avalanche Extension 2026-27 to 2030-31 5 $22.5M $4.5M
Jul 13, 2022 Edmonton Oilers New contract 2022-23 to 2025-26 4 $11M $2.75M
May 25, 2019 Montreal Canadiens Extension 2019-20 to 2021-22 3 $5.55M $1.85M
Jul 25, 2018 Calgary Flames New contract 2018-19 to 2018-19 1 $900K $900K
Aug 28, 2017 Calgary Flames New contract 2017-18 to 2017-18 1 $650K $650K
Mar 18, 2014 Calgary Flames Entry-level 2014-15 to 2016-17 3 $2.45M $657K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2016-17 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2016-17 analytics

Rating

-0.8Goals above replacement549th of 664 skaters, 181st of 229 defencemen
-0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-1.7Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 229 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-0.5 54th percentileEven-strength defence-0.4 49th percentilePower play-0.1 54th percentilePenalty kill+0.0 49th percentilePenalties-0.8 41st percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-10-505102014-152016-172018-192020-212022-232024-252026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

50.4Corsi for %259 attempts for, 255 against
+1.0CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
47.0Expected goals for %9.9 expected for, 11.2 against
-1.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
47.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
38.9Goals for %7 for, 11 against
97.9PDO5.4% shooting + 92.5% saves
51Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Deryk Engelland · Brett Kulak21230:3851.750.77-6
Dougie Hamilton · Brett Kulak1625:0844.433.70-4
Dennis Wideman · Brett Kulak1022:2335.936.40-1
Mark Giordano · Brett Kulak43:2633.30.00-0

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.7Expected goalsfrom 30 unblocked attempts
-0.7Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.14 expected goals per 60 minutes27th
Shot quality 2.3% chance per attempt14th
Finishing -0.7 goals above expected41stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 229 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.20.40.60.81Game 20Expected 0.7Goals 0

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Feb 15, 2017 vs PHI W 3-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 08:28
Feb 13, 2017 vs ARI L 0-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 17:19
Feb 7, 2017 @ PIT W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:07
Jan 26, 2017 @ OTT W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 14:47
Jan 24, 2017 @ MTL L 1-5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 14:31
Jan 23, 2017 @ TOR L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 12:07
Nov 27, 2016 @ PHI L 3-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 11:50
Nov 25, 2016 @ BOS W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 13:12
Nov 23, 2016 @ CBJ W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 12:18
Nov 20, 2016 @ DET W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 2 2 0 14:24
Nov 18, 2016 vs CHI L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:56
Nov 16, 2016 vs ARI W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 14:20
Nov 15, 2016 @ MIN W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 11:26
Nov 12, 2016 vs NYR L 1-4 0 0 0 -4 0 1 0 12:09
Nov 10, 2016 vs DAL L 2-4 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 20:32
Nov 6, 2016 @ ANA L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 17:28
Nov 5, 2016 @ LAK L 0-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 21:33
Nov 3, 2016 @ SJS W 3-2 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 13:20
Oct 20, 2016 vs CAR L 2-4 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 15:12
Oct 18, 2016 vs BUF W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 15:19
Oct 15, 2016 @ VAN L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 13:47