Three Montreal Canadiens Flying Under the Radar

Number two: Brett Kulak

Another player who joined the organization this summer via a smart deal on Bergevin’s part, Brett Kulak has been a solid and reliable defenseman since he was called up from Laval 27 games ago. He came from the Calgary Flames in return for Matt Taormina and Rinat Valiev, two AHL defensemen.

Brett Kulak has spent time on all three pairings and has never really looked out of place on any of them. I quite liked him next to Weber, but Victor Mete simply is a better fit. Kulak played a different role next to Jeff Petry, while next to Man Mountain he would often join the forwards on the forecheck, he would have to hang back, since this is what Petry likes to do. However, he has been most effective on the bottom pairing next to Jordie Benn.

Kulak was averaging around 20 minutes every night on the top two pairings, but since being relegated to the third pairing, he has seen around 16 minutes, and this has brought out the best of him. He has had a plus-4 rating since joining Benn, which is quite impressive for a bottom-pairing guy. One interesting stat to look at after his change in duties is the number of blocked shots. In 13 games on the top two pairings, he blocked a total of 10 shots. On the third pairing, he has blocked 23 shots in 14 games. This shows that he is becoming more comfortable at the NHL level and is really getting down and dirty.

Kulak has scored three goals and assisted three, this is clearly nothing too special, but the important thing to note is that he scores when the team desperately needs a goal. He scored his first of the year against the Lightning in that painfully close 6-5 regulation loss. His goal tied the game at 4 and motivated the team to add the go-ahead goal quickly. While the end result was far from favourable, Kulak stepped up and made a difference.

His second goal of the year came in Colorado. The game was tied at 0 with only 11 minutes and 39 seconds remaining in regulation when Kulak opened the floodgates with a low slapshot. The Montreal Canadiens ended up winning the encounter 3-0, shutting out the league’s top line.

Brett Kulak has been a welcome addition to the Canadiens’ third pairing. He is reliable on the back end and has an offensive upside; you can’t ask much more of a bottom pairing guy. Let us hope that he will do nothing but improve from here on out.