The Pittsburgh Penguins made a big trade on Friday morning, sending goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick.
The Oilers had been a rumored destination for Jarry for the last few weeks since their goaltending was really struggling to start the season. They had a combined .879 save percentage between Skinner and fellow goaltender Cal Pickard through the first two months of the season, and are hoping that Jarry can help stabilize things in the crease.
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Skinner had been with the Oilers organization since they selected him in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s been inconsistent throughout his career, but will now have a chance for a fresh start in a new organization. He’ll be paired with Arturs Silovs for the foreseeable future while Sergei Murashov continues to get the starters’ reps in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
As for Kulak, he becomes an immediate upgrade to the third pairing on the left side of the blue line and can even play on the second pair with Kris Letang. He’s having a rough go of things this year and has seen his minutes decrease, but it doesn’t help that the Oilers’ goalies (Skinner and Pickard) had an .861 save percentage with him on the ice.
Kulak had a great season last year, compiling seven goals and 25 points in 82 games. He also averaged over 20 minutes per game during the regular season and over 23 minutes per game in the playoffs. He brought the offense and was also stingy in his own end at 5v5 and on the penalty kill.
Kulak played 1475:31 at 5v5 last year and was on the ice for 53.4% of the shot attempts, 54.2% of the scoring chances, 54.4% of the high-danger chances, and 54.3% of the expected goals. Kulak spent 576 5v5 minutes with Ty Emberson last year and also has experience playing with Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard. He spent 425 5v5 minutes with Nurse and 208 5v5 minutes with Bouchard last year.
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Emberson was in his first full NHL season last year after playing in 30 games with the San Jose Sharks during the 2023-24 season. Kulak got to mentor him a bit, and I bring that up because there’s a chance (even if it’s small) that Harrison Brunicke plays for the team again this season after he gets back from the World Juniors. Kulak could have the opportunity to play with him if the Penguins feel like they’re ready to start Brunicke’s ELC.
BREAKING: Penguins Trade Tristan Jarry To Edmonton Oilers
If not, Kulak’s experience in a top-four spot could go a long way since Letang is really struggling right now. Letang had another rotten game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, and it might be in Dan Muse’s best interest to give him a new partner, at least to test it out.
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Outside of his 5v5 impacts, Kulak can also kill penalties, which is a significant strength of the Penguins. Going into Saturday’s game against the Sharks, the Penguins rank fourth in the league with a 84.7% penalty kill. Kulak played 141:58 on the PK last year, which is the second-most minutes he’s ever had on that unit. He’s already up to 44:54 in 30 games this year and should see plenty of time on the Penguins’ unit due to his defensive capabilities.
If he can get back to his level from last year while keeping up his strong work on the PK, there’s a chance the Penguins could flip him around the trade deadline since he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
Of course, that depends on how much Dubas wants to sell because the team is in the playoff race right now. Despite three losses in a row, the Penguins are still in the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 14-8-7 record. They have games in hand on the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division, but they only matter if you win them.
Either way, Kulak has what it takes to help the Penguins’ backend.
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(Data via Natural Stat Trick and Dobber’s Frozen Tools).
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