The Colorado Avalanche cannot afford to let Brett Kulak slip through their fingers this offseason.
By all intents and purposes, Kulak was a rental this season. He’s an impending UFA and could be looking for a big payday this summer.
But the fit between Kulak and the Avalanche has been too good to ignore. Plus, his game-winning, series-clinching goal against the Minnesota Wild has made Kulak’s tenure an unforgettable one.
That’s why Colorado must re-sign Kulak. As my colleague Sean McKenna aptly noted in this piece, Kulak has well exceeded expectations. In fact, Kulak has gone so far that he’s now an indispensable part of the Avalanche’s blue line.
The idea of losing Kulak at this point would be tough to swallow. His quiet, reliable play is just what the club needed to balance the defense corps. And if Brent Burns retires at the end of this season, Kulak could become even more important to the Avs.
But the biggest question of all could revolve around what it would cost to keep the 32-year-old in the fold.
Looking at the cost to keep Kulak with Colorado Avalanche
Last season, the Avalanche made a similar trade deadline deal, bringing in Ryan Lindgren from the New York Rangers. Lindgren, however, did not have nearly the same impact as Kulak did. Cap considerations and other limitations forced Colorado to let Lindgren leave via free agency.
Unfortunately, Lindgren slipped through the Avalanche’s fingers. But Kulak could be a different story.
Lindgren’s free agent contract was much higher than what Kulak could cost for the Avalanche. The former Calgary Flames fourth-round pick has a current cap hit of $2.75 million. Of course, the assumption is that Kulak will be looking for a raise on his next contract.
But that raise might not be quite as high as expected. Moreover, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kulak take a lower AAV, potentially on a longer-term deal, to stay with a Stanley Cup contender like the Avalanche.
Perhaps something along the lines of a three-year deal around $3.5 million would get the job done. Of course, the Avalanche will need to be careful as Cale Makar's next contract looms large. But then again, Kulak would be remiss if he didn't take advantage of the opportunity to remain on the best team in the league.
If such a deal could work out, the Avs will have three high-end shutdown blueliners for a full season. Such a situation would make the NHL’s best defense ever better. Heck, we could even be talking about the makings of the best defense in the league for the foreseeable future.
We’re certainly getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. But seeing how Kulak has become a prominent figure in Colorado has precipitated this discussion. There’s no doubt that Kulak will be a major piece of offseason business following the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup win, hopefully.
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