Penguins trade Brett Kulak to Colorado for Samuel Girard

With the Olympic trading freeze lifted on February 22 at 11:59 PM, two days later, the first major trade has taken place as the NHL resumes their season on Wednesday. The Colorado Avalanche are sending defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Brett Kulak.

We acquired Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Samuel Girard and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/tZrCRBm3LB

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 24, 2026

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Kulak is a solid defenseman who helped the Edmonton Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025. He plays about 20 minutes a night and is a smooth top-four defender who is a strong penalty killer.

Acquired by COL, Brett Kulak is a smooth, top-four defensive back who kills penalties. Played with Kris Letang and did quite well after a rough start with the Oilers this season. When he’s at his best, he calms things down and plays it safe. pic.twitter.com/FdYI3Nqnnr

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 24, 2026

This is the second time Kulak has been traded this season. Remember, Kulak, along with Stuart Skinner, was sent to the Penguins from Edmonton when the Oilers acquired goaltender Tristan Jarry.

Meanwhile, Girard is a solid pickup who could be the future of the Penguins’ blueline with the aging veterans on the back end. He’s a good top-four defender and his ceiling is on the second pair.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Sam Girard and 2nd round pick ’28 from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Brett Kulak. I like this deal for Pittsburgh. Girard is a good second-pair defender at best. pic.twitter.com/nFOCEO7JgI

— Rono (@RonoAnalyst) February 24, 2026

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The Avalanche have wanted to trade Girard for almost four years now. Even though he helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022, there was a sense that if the right move came along, they would pull the trigger.

From somewhere over the North Atlantic, trade details and thoughts:

Nasty #GoAvsGo:
D Brett Kulak (pending UFA)

Nasty #LetsGoPens:
D Samuel Girard
2028 2nd round pick

Kulak is a proven playoff performer. Colorado had flirted with the idea of ​​switching Girard on/off for parts of 4…

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 24, 2026

Penguins Kyle Dubas has taken a lot of flak for some of the moves he made during his tenure there, but he changed Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin in Stuart Skinner and Samuel Girardplus two second-round picks.

There is no salary retention in this deal. Kulak is in the final year of his $2.75 million cap hit deal. Girard has one year left on his $5 million cap hit deal. The Colorado Avalanche have been trying to free up cap space as they look to acquire a depth centerman and possibly another defenseman.

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Currently, the Avalanche have approximately $8.742 million in cap space. At the NHL Trade Deadline, the Avalanche will have approximately $10.8 million in cap space. These numbers will be adjusted once Logan O’Connor returns to the lineup and is activated from LTIR, adding $2.5 million to the salary cap.

It begs the question: Will the Colorado Avalanche call up the Calgary Flames, if they haven’t already, and discuss a potential trade involving Nazem Kadri? Everyone knows the impact he had on the Avalanche in 2022, helping them win a Stanley Cup.

It’s worth a look given their cap situation.

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