Hockey Terminal
Be a GM

← All players

Photo of Jiri Kulich

Jiri Kulich

#20 · Centre · Buffalo Sabres

Born Apr 14, 2004 in Kadan, CZE (age 22) · 6'1", 195 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 28th overall in 2022 by BUF (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2023-24. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Alex Steeves TOR · 0 P in 1 GP Anton Blidh NYR · 0 P in 1 GP Bradly Nadeau CAR · 0 P in 1 GP Callahan Burke CAR · 0 P in 1 GP Cameron Butler CBJ · 0 P in 1 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.

051015202023-24: 0 points023-242024-25: 24 points2424-252025-26: 5 points525-262026-27: 2 points226-27

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2023-24 BUF 1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 0.00 $918K
2024-25 BUF 62 15 9 24 -4 18 134 40 0.39 $887K
2025-26 BUF 12 3 2 5 -4 4 20 9 0.42 $887K
2026-27 BUF 4 1 1 2 2 0 4 5 0.50 $887K
4 seasons Career 79 19 12 31 -7 22 159 55 0.39

2023-24 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 0.00 0.0 14:53

Contract

$918KCap hitends in 2027, then RFA
$4.758MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.2 goals above replacement

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.

The contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Jul 15, 2022, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.85M, beginning in 2024-25. This season is not one of its years: an entry-level contract slides back a year when a player signed at 18 or 19 plays fewer than 10 NHL games. It runs through 2026-27, with 3 seasons left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2024-25 $887K $855K $95K $950K
2025-26 $887K $855K $0 $855K
2026-27 $887K $855K $0 $855K

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
Jul 15, 2022 Buffalo Sabres Entry-level 2024-25 to 2026-27 signed for 2022-23, slid 3 $2.85M $887K

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 2023-24 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.

2023-24 analytics

Rating

+0.2Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.1Even-strength defence+0.3Power play0.0Penalty kill0.0Penalties+0.0

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. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked.

-101232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals 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

30.8Corsi for %4 attempts for, 9 against
+3.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
40.6Expected goals for %0.2 expected for, 0.3 against
+25.3xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
33.3Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
0.0Goals for %0 for, 0 against
100.0PDO0.0% shooting + 100.0% saves
1Attempts 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Kyle Okposo · Peyton Krebs · Jiri Kulich110:2733.343.40-0
Kyle Okposo · Tyson Jost · Jiri Kulich11:260.00.00-0
Tyson Jost · Isak Rosen · Jiri Kulich11:040.00.00-0
Peyton Krebs · Isak Rosen · Jiri Kulich10:360.00.00-0

The lines 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 lines 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.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.0Expected goalsfrom 1 unblocked attempts
0.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.07 expected goals per 60 minutes1st
Shot quality 1.7% chance per attempt1st
Finishing 0.0 goals above expected51stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 438 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

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
Nov 25, 2023 @ NJD L 2-7 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 14:53