ROSTER REDUX: Brett Kulak

EDMONTON, AB - After signing a four-year contract to remain in Oil Country following a strong first stint with the Edmonton Oilers, the Pride of Parkland County continues to deliver results.

From a short-term rental in 2022 to a long-term lock-up until 2026, defenceman Brett Kulak's reliability on the back end for his childhood NHL team helped produce new career bests for the Stony Plain product during the 2022-23 NHL season, while reaffirming his importance on the Oilers blueline and their quest to win the Stanley Cup in the coming seasons.

"Brett Kulak came into our team last year and I thought he rounded out our D-core very nicely," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said.

Kulak was acquired by the Oilers in March 2022 at the trade deadline after the club paid the price of a second-round pick, a seventh-round pick and defenceman William Lagesson to the Montreal Canadiens so they could shore up their blueline for the pending Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Stony Plain product's services.

Edmonton's pro scouting staff took a liking to the 29-year-old's smooth skating, defensive prowess, versatily to move up and down the lineup, and his ability to attack the opposition at the bluelines -- the latter of which being an area the Oilers wanted to improve heading toward the business end of their season.

Kulak had also gone all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals the previous season with Montreal, adding another desirable detail of experience to the defender's resumé that would further reinforce Edmonton's own convictions that he was a player they wanted to add to their roster.

"This is not his first rodeo here," Woodcroft said. "He's a pretty fairly experienced playoff player, he's gone on some deep runs, and you can see that he's using his experience to his advantage."

Kulak's acquisition led to his strong 18-game audition in the regular season for the Blue & Orange in '21-22 with eight points (2G, 6A) before he produced a further five helpers in 16 post-season games, including assists in three straight contests in Games 5, 6 and 7 of the first round against the Los Angeles Kings.

The former fourth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2012 led all Oilers defencemen in plus/minus at +7 during the 2022 Playoffs, absorbing plenty of extra minutes that became available due to Darnell Nurse's core injury that hampered his output down the stretch and into the post-season.

After dipping his toes into NHL Free Agency last summer, Kulak found the water at its warmest in Edmonton when it came down to role, responsibility and a real chance to lift the Stanley Cup before signing a new four-year contract with an average annual value of $2.75 million to remain with the Oilers long term.

"I feel like I'm just entering the prime of my career physically and mentally," he said. "I feel like I'm really coming into my game here. At this point, I want an opportunity to play a big role on a team. That's when you're having the most fun -- when you're playing big minutes, night in and night out, and you're really contributing to a team's success."

From what he showed during his strong first impression with the Oilers, Kulak continued that momentum into the '22-23 campaign where he was relied upon fill some of the holes left by the retirement of veteran Duncan Keith.

Kulak regularly played on the left side in a top-four role for the Oilers prior to the arrival of Mattias Ekholm -- another trade-deadline acquisition who would assume those duties for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs -- but moved back to the third pairing upon the Swede's arrival, where Kulak has experienced plenty of success over his career with his speed and solid physicality that help him contend against some of the NHL's bigger and more powerful lines.

"I think he's a smooth skater. I think he allows us to play the game a certain way with a tightness that we want to see in our overall five-man team game, because he trusts his skating," Woodcroft said. "His skating is so good that it allows him to play tight on people rather than giving them separation and time and space, so I think Brett is coming into the prime of his career. I think he's a hard worker who's low maintenance.

Across all 82 regular-season games and a further 12 in the playoffs from Kulak in '22-23, the Oilers outscored their opponents 62-56 at even strength while the defenceman was on the ice. The Stony Plain product set new career highs for games played, goals and points after playing every game this season for the Blue & Orange and finishing the year with three goals and 17 assists.

"He's money in the bank. You know what you're going to get out of Brett every single day," Woodcroft said. "He's all effort. He's very professional in how he brings his approach to the rink every day and he's an unbelievable skater. He makes us fast on the back end, gets in a lot of shot lanes, and he's been a real good hockey player for us here."