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Montreal Canadiens: Three Regulars Who Need To Prove Themselves At Training Camp

By Ken MacMillan

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 03: Brett Kulak of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 03: Brett Kulak of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Brett Kulak of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Brett Kulak of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Brett Kulak

Speaking of picking up productive players from Calgary for nothing….

Brett Kulak actually made it through waivers in September of 2018 before being dealt to the Habs for minor leaguers Matt Taormina and Rinat Valiev.

He has become something of an analytics darling since then, but hasn’t always felt the love from head coach Claude Julien. Kulak played 57 games in 2018-19, scoring 17 points and finding a steady partner in Jeff Petry by the end of the season. Last season was pretty similar in that he would find himself playing regular minutes on the top four for a while, and would then be a healthy scratch a few games later.

Some nights early in the season, Kulak would watch Mike Reilly from the press box but by the end of the year he was a regular on the second pairing.

The only real consistency for him all season was that he was behind Ben Chiarot on the depth chart every game. Well, Chiarot returns this season and Joel Edmundson also joins the team fresh off signing a four-year contract with a $3.5 million cap hit. Marc Bergevin was surprisingly open when talking about Edmundson, all but confirming he will start the season next to Petry.

Canadiens management is absolutely thrilled with the progression of Alexander Romanov since taking him in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He is starting to look like a lock on that third pairing.

Where does that leave Kulak? Battling for the final spot on the third pairing with Victor Mete, Noah Juulsen and Cale Fleury. Fleury is not eligible for waivers so he will likely start the season in the minors, or on the taxi squad.

That still leave Kulak needing to outperform Juulsen and Mete for a spot in the lineup. With Kulak making $1.85 million this season and all the others making less than a million, the veteran could find himself going from second pairing in the postseason, to off the roster before this season starts.

Next. How can Habs become cap compliant?. dark

He will need to excel in a training camp with no exhibition games to prove he is worth his cap hit and roster spot going forward.

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