Montreal Canadiens: What to make of the Brett Kulak extension

The Montreal Canadiens dealt with another restricted free agent signing defenceman Brett Kulak to a three-year contract extension.

As another week comes to close to closing, the Montreal Canadiens check another free agent off their list. It wasn’t a big one, but the Brett Kulak signing was set to be an interesting case. He was acquired from the Calgary Flames after playing his first full season in the NHL but was initially thought to be an AHL booster.

However, he was recalled from the Laval Rocket and played well enough to see time with Shea Weber on the top pairing. It lasted longer than expected, but not for the rest of the season. He could skate well, move the puck, and had many moments of smart decision making gaining a lot more trust from the coaching staff than Mike Reilly had.

Kulak finished the season with 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 57 games with the Montreal Canadiens. He averaged 17:51 for the year splitting most of his time between the second pair with Jeff Petry or the bottom pair with Christian Folin or Jordie Benn.

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His final number could’ve been a relatively higher one given how he’s progressed and how he was used, but Marc Bergevin ended up getting him on a three-year contract with a $1.85 million cap-hit.

Sebastian had this to say about the deal:

"think it’s a deft signing on MB’s part. I was expecting something much closer to the 2.25 mark. Kulak will only improve and is a decent second-pairing defenseman and an excellent bottom-pairing one. He will bring a lot of stability and an impressive Corsi for percentage to the lineup for the next 3 years."

Kulak isn’t much of a shot generator, but where he improved is his defensive game. He had his best shot suppression tally this season with a RelCA/60 of -3.84 and had an overall RelCF of 2.09. When Kulak was on the ice, teams were getting fewer chances, and the Montreal Canadiens instead were generating.

Again keep in mind he was playing second-pair minutes this season for the first time in his career. If Kulak can continue to improve, which is fairly likely considering he’s only 25, that contract will look like an absolute steal for the Habs as Emmanuel pointed out in his reaction to the deal.

Wherever Kulak plays in the lineup, his deal and ability as a defenceman will be a serious asset on the Montreal Canadiens moving forward. Additionally, where he ends up playing will depend on further possible moves, Bergevin does or doesn’t make this offseason.

One thing to make note is this: Kulak getting this three-year deal confirms the end of Jordie Benn with the Montreal Canadiens. It may have already seemed that way despite his optimism to return at the end-of-season interviews, but there’s no way to look around it now.

Kulak is making $750,000 more than Benn for starters, and there isn’t any room for him, not even as a seventh or eighth defenceman. Ironically, most of Kulak’s even strength playing time was with Benn by his side and had a 55% CF and a 59.4% Goals for at 5v5. But as you would expect, those numbers improved when playing with Petry (except for his goals for%).

Is management set on having Kulak on the second pair with Petry? It wouldn’t hurt to try, at least at the beginning of the season if the Montreal Canadiens don’t add a new top-four defenceman in free agency. Though Kulak would be excellent on the third-pairing as Sebastian pointed out.

For now, the Habs blue line have four confirmed players in Weber, Petry, Kulak, and Victor Mete. The bottom-pairing spot could go to either Folin or Noah Juulsen, and it’s more likely the latter gets it. It’ll be interesting to see how far Kulak goes and if this contract ends up being one we praise Bergevin for.