Brett Kulak and the hidden movements behind the movements

Transactions in the NHL are dissected into the contracts, the cap implications and the fit on the ice. That’s fair game. But there’s another aspect of transactions that people don’t think much about. What is the impact on the players’ families? Mother and children suddenly have to cross the continent because father has been trafficked. That’s the part that really gets to you.

Kulak has been traded twice this season

Brett Kulak’s season has provided a front row seat to that side of the business. Twice traded in one seasonhe went from the Edmonton Oilers to the Pittsburgh Penguins and then to the Colorado Avalanche. All of these moves required him to navigate more than just the locker room and ice time.

That’s the easy part. But the harder parts include the changing realities of family, especially as a wife and mother of two young children. It’s the part of hockey that rarely makes the headlines, but it’s the part that shapes a player’s life off the ice, and often beyond it.

To share a bit about Kulak’s family, he married wife Caitlyn in July 2021 and they have two young daughters together: Ryleigh (born May 2022, famously arriving between Games 6 and 7 of Edmonton’s 2022 playoff series against the Kings) and Scotlyn (born April 2025, with Kulak rushing home for the birth before flying back to join the Oilers for their next playoff game against the Kings). The family tries to live a fairly quiet private life despite the NHL spotlight.

Kulak talks about the ripple effect on his young family

Kulak talked about how wild it is to be traded twice in one season; he said it’s quite rare, and you can tell he means it. Every move shakes things up for his family: a new city, new routines, new schools for the kids, and trying to make it all feel normal while the NHL madness continues in the background.

He describes it in almost practical terms, such as “picking up the pieces” and “getting our lives in order.” But beneath that practicality lies the constant balancing act: a desire to stay together as a family, and the recognition that it isn’t always easy.

Kulak admits that the transactions are easier for him than for his family

What makes this particularly interesting is Kulak’s observation about how the family is coping with the moves. He notes that the transitions are smoother for him as a player. He goes further for his work, as he puts it himself. But for his partner and children it is different – ​​and more difficult.

They adapt to new routines, meet new neighbors and re-establish a sense of home twice in a short time. The young children, he admits, are resilient, but every move brings a bit of turbulence. And yet the family tries to maintain cohesion. It’s a negotiation, a give and take between career demands and the desire for stability.

Often the backstories of transactions are ignored by others

The broader takeaway from Kulak’s reflections is how often hockey trade stories skip this dimension. There’s the superficial level of “he’s been trafficked again,” and then there’s the quieter, deeper impact: family, home, routine, emotional rhythm. Kulak’s season shows that the human element does not stand still in the sport. He learns, his family adapts, and amid the hustle and bustle and changing locker rooms, the real victory is keeping the family together and functional while the professional side of hockey plays out its unpredictable side.

Ultimately, Kulak’s story is not just about transactions on paper; it’s about the hard work behind the scenes and off the ice. There’s a lot of movement in hockey, but the hardest work is often invisible: the emotional choreography of keeping a family going in the eye of a storm. That, in its quiet way, is as demanding as any shift on the ice.

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