The Colorado Avalanche have a surprisingly complex blueline situation this offseason. Beyond the evident matter involving Cale Makar and his extension, the makeup of Colorado’s defense corps next season hinges on a crucial decision.
That decision involves Brett Kulak.
Kulak has come to the end of his current four-year deal and is set to become a UFA this summer. As such, the 32-year-old will be on the organization’s to-do list.
But bringing him back won’t be cut and dry.
I’ve advocated in the past about the need for the Avalanche to keep Kulak. He was a great fit, and a full season of Kulak in 2026-27 would be a fantastic asset to have.
The conundrum lies in the Avalanche’s cap situation. PuckPedia shows the Avs have $2.9 million in cap space to play with this summer. That’s not bad, but the club needs to fill out at least three blueline spots.
As it stands, only Makar, Devon Toews, Sam Malinski, and Josh Manson are under contract. Unless the Avalanche can round out the last two spots and the seventh defenseman slot with cheap, league-minimum deals, the club will run into a cap crunch.
That’s why re-signing Kulak could become this offseason’s biggest decision. If the former fourth-round pick from the 2012 NHL Draft wants to get paid, and he very well could on the open market, he would pretty much price himself out of Colorado.
Could Kulak cut Avalanche a break?
Kulak could cut the Avalanche a break by passing on a massive payday just to get a chance to play with a contender next season.
Assuming that Kulak takes something like a one or two-year deal, even at this year’s $2.75 million cap hit, it would leave the team with a bit of a thin margin under the cap.
Colorado will still need to scare up some cap space to round out the blueline. Even if Brent Burns returned on another one-year, $1 million deal, the Avs would still go over the cap.
Incidentally, a Makar extension will have no bearing on the cap situation next season. Makar will be entering the final year of his current deal at $9 million. The issue will become apparent in 2027-28.
That’s why Kulak is the biggest item on the docket for now. The Avs will need to figure out if they can realistically keep Kulak. Otherwise, it would be surprising to hear about Colorado potentially trying to trade his rights.
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