EDMONTON — Brett Kulak can’t help but be thrilled by his increased workload with the Edmonton Oilers over the last week and a half.
Before Monday’s 3-0 loss to New Jersey, Kulak played at least 20 minutes in four of the previous five games.
“It’s probably the most minutes I’ve had in a five-game stretch in my career,” he said. “The more you’re out there, the more fun you have.”
Kulak has been thrust into an increased role thanks in part to the lack of an established partner in the top four for veteran defenceman Darnell Nurse. As a result, his bump hasn’t come in a traditional way.
Not only has Kulak been taking his regular shifts next to Ty Emberson on the third pair, but he’s also been asked to share the ice with the fellow lefty Nurse at five-on-five at key moments in the game. It’s Kulak who’s mostly played his unnatural right side when he’s been paired with Nurse.
“He can handle whatever side we put him on,” coach Kris Knoblauch said.
The underlying numbers, per Natural Stat Trick, indicate Kulak has played well with both partners at five-on-five despite some poor outcomes around the nets.
Though the Oilers are being outscored 6-3 in the 118 minutes Kulak and Emberson have played together, they’re out-attempting opponents 131-105 and the duo has a 62 expected goals percentage. Kulak and Nurse are down 1-0 on the scoreboard in almost 36 minutes, but the Oilers are out-attempting teams 50-20 and the pair have a 72 expected goals percentage.
“It’s challenged me, too — sometimes being on the right; sometimes being on the left. Going back and forth is good,” Kulak said. “I’m gaining experience and it’s making me a better player.”
The Oilers have needed what Kulak’s been able to offer. His performance and adaptability are allowing the Oilers to get by on the blue line before management considers any augmentation to the roster before the trade deadline.
Kulak has quietly been one of the Oilers’ most useful players amid a middling 6-6-1 start for the team.
“You look at our D pairs last year and this year and he’s slotted in as our third left-handed defenceman, but he’s been relied on a lot more in big games,” Knoblauch said. “You look at the playoffs. His minutes increased (and) his role — whether that was on the penalty kill or five-on-five shifts.
“Obviously, we’re missing some defencemen from last year and we’ve got some new guys coming in. We’re balancing on how everything fits. We (he and assistant coach Paul Coffey) both felt that Brett could always handle more responsibilities, more ice time. He’s getting some of that right now.”
The 30-year-old blueliner is getting used to adjusting to help his team.
He was asked to play the right side next to Nurse in the back half the last season’s Western Conference final against Dallas, but he didn’t feel very comfortable in that position. Philip Broberg took his place for most of the Stanley Cup Final, allowing Kulak to play his strong side next to Cody Ceci.
That experience is paying dividends now. Kulak is more familiar with the intricacies of the different angles, and he said he’s also more willing to put his skating to use whether with the puck or closing on an opponent.
“I’m finding it easier now as opposed to before,” Kulak said. “Sometimes you think things are a lot different, but they’re really not. There are couple plays where you’re in a different situation. But for the most part, the game’s the same.”
Penalty killing is also now a main part of Kulak’s repertoire after Ceci, Broberg and Vincent Desharnais moved on in the summer. He was the team’s fifth option among defencemen last season, essentially only getting time on that special team if one of four regulars was in the box. He got 73 minutes of PK time in 82 games.
He got more action there in the playoffs after Desharnais became a regular scratch midway through the Dallas series but wound up getting just under 23 minutes in 25 games.
“He’s a smart, mobile guy who can figure things out,” Knoblauch said.
He’s already had 20 short-handed minutes this season in 13 contests. That ranks third among defencemen and fifth on the team. Kulak has been on the ice for five of the 14 goals they’ve surrendered.
“Obviously, we’re not where we want to be and where we feel we’re going to get to on the PK, but that’s where we’re at right now,” Kulak said. “The opportunity, anytime you can get that at any point in your career, is really nice.”
The extra minutes with Nurse and on the PK have made Kulak more valuable to the Oilers. The last time he played close to this much came a couple of years ago.
Kulak was acquired from Montreal in March 2022 to augment the third defence pair, a move that paid off as the Oilers reached the Western Conference final. The Oilers re-signed Kulak, a pending free agent, that summer after Duncan Keith decided to retire. Kulak was the best lefty defenceman on the market.
Kulak was elevated to the second pair to start the 2022-23 season and played mostly with Tyson Barrie. He had a top-four role for the better part of the first five months of that campaign, a run that ended when the Oilers obtained Mattias Ekholm from Nashville that February.
Kulak averaged 18:06 during that span, including seven games of at least 20 minutes. He’s played 17:53 per contest this season, up 2:30 from last season.
Now he’s skated at least a third of regulation time in four of the last six contests. It’s a big jump.
“That’s been awesome,” he said.
Kulak didn’t get as much ice time on Monday. He was used for 16:17 against the Devils as Knoblauch and Coffey heavily leaned on their top pair of Ekholm and Evan Bouchard with the Oilers trailing just past the five-minute mark of the game. He got just 3:03 with Nurse, too.
That type of usage in terms of minutes played and time with Nurse appears to be more of an outlier than the new norm. Naturally, that sounds just fine to Kulak, who welcomes as much ice time as he can get.
“Your body and your mind are just so into the game,” he said. “You almost get to a point where you could stay on the ice forever.”
(Photo: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
