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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 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Henri Jokiharju BUF · 8 P in 46 GP Ethan Bear EDM · 8 P in 43 GP Brayden McNabb VGK · 8 P in 41 GP Jeremy Lauzon BOS · 8 P in 41 GP Alexander Edler VAN · 8 P in 52 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: 4 points426-27

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 5 0 4 4 0 0 3 2 0.80 $4.5M
13 seasons Career 668 29 112 141 2 276 894 589 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

2020-21 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
46 2 6 8 3 20 57 28 0.17 3.5 16:06

Contract

$1.85MCap hitends in 2022, then UFA
$231KCap dollars per point8 points in 46 games
$1.448MCap dollars per goal above replacement1.3 goals above replacement
$2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$146KValueworth 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. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 633 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Montreal Canadiens on May 25, 2019, as an extension of the contract he was on: 3 years and $5.55M, beginning in 2019-20. It runs through 2021-22, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2019-20 $1.85M $1.95M $0 $1.95M
2020-21 $1.85M $1.4M $0 $1.4M
2021-22 $1.85M $2.2M $0 $2.2M

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 2020-21 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.

2020-21 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.3Goals above replacement360th of 643 skaters, 116th of 213 defencemen
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-1.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 213 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-1.5 27th percentileEven-strength defence+1.3 79th percentilePower play0.0 62nd percentilePenalty kill0.0 42nd percentilePenalties-0.9 30th 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. 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

56.7Corsi for %731 attempts for, 559 against
+3.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.4Expected goals for %28.1 expected for, 25.5 against
-0.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
56.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
54.0Goals for %27 for, 23 against
99.0PDO7.0% shooting + 92.0% saves
111Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 579 skaters who played enough to be ranked: 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. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Brett Kulak · Alexander Romanov39307:5056.055.011-7
Jeff Petry · Brett Kulak29187:4361.560.16-7
Ben Chiarot · Brett Kulak1693:5449.033.72-6
Shea Weber · Brett Kulak1639:2859.543.43-2

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.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.8Expected goalsfrom 72 unblocked attempts
+0.2Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.15 expected goals per 60 minutes33rd
Shot quality 2.5% chance per attempt25th
Finishing +0.2 goals above expected61stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 218 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Game 20Game 40Goals 2Expected 1.8

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
May 12, 2021 vs EDM L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 23:22
May 10, 2021 vs EDM L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 22:13
May 8, 2021 @ TOR L 2-3 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 16:59
May 6, 2021 @ TOR L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 2 14:45
May 5, 2021 @ OTT L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 17:57
May 3, 2021 vs TOR W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 14:28
May 1, 2021 vs OTT W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:23
Apr 19, 2021 @ EDM L 1-4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 13:49
Apr 17, 2021 vs OTT L 0-4 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 14:23
Apr 16, 2021 vs CGY W 2-1 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 14:44
Apr 14, 2021 vs CGY L 1-4 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 16:58
Apr 12, 2021 vs TOR W 4-2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 14:20
Apr 10, 2021 vs WPG L 0-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 18:04
Apr 8, 2021 vs WPG L 2-4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 21:08
Apr 7, 2021 @ TOR L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 17:31
Apr 5, 2021 vs EDM W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 21:53
Apr 3, 2021 vs OTT L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 14:58
Apr 1, 2021 @ OTT W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 19:32
Mar 30, 2021 vs EDM W 4-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15:21
Mar 20, 2021 vs VAN W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 22:39
Mar 19, 2021 vs VAN L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 3 17:13
Mar 17, 2021 @ WPG L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 18:11
Mar 15, 2021 @ WPG W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 21:05
Mar 13, 2021 @ CGY L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:36
Mar 11, 2021 @ CGY L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 15:02
Mar 10, 2021 @ VAN W 5-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 16:54
Mar 8, 2021 @ VAN L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:44
Mar 6, 2021 vs WPG W 7-1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 20:55
Mar 4, 2021 vs WPG L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 16:39
Mar 2, 2021 vs OTT W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:13
Feb 27, 2021 @ WPG L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14:42
Feb 25, 2021 @ WPG L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:49
Feb 23, 2021 @ OTT L 4-5 (SO) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 13:56
Feb 11, 2021 vs EDM L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:43
Feb 10, 2021 vs TOR L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 14:17
Feb 6, 2021 @ OTT W 2-1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 12:20
Feb 4, 2021 vs OTT L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 14:37
Feb 2, 2021 vs VAN W 5-3 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 12:49
Jan 30, 2021 vs CGY L 0-2 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 11:52
Jan 28, 2021 vs CGY W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18:02
Jan 23, 2021 @ VAN W 5-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 15:20
Jan 21, 2021 @ VAN W 7-3 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 12:20
Jan 20, 2021 @ VAN L 5-6 (SO) 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 14:55
Jan 18, 2021 @ EDM W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 10:01
Jan 16, 2021 @ EDM W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:38
Jan 13, 2021 @ TOR L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 13:37