DENVER — Brett Kulak won’t need much of a scouting report tonight.
Few players in the league know the inner workings of the Edmonton Oilers quite like the veteran defenseman, who spent years inside their locker room and helped them reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. Now, after a whirlwind season that has already taken him through three organizations, Kulak finds himself on the opposite side again — armed with firsthand knowledge of one of the NHL’s most explosive offenses.
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This matchup carries a unique wrinkle: it will be Kulak’s third time facing Edmonton this season, and his second different team while doing it.
Kulak began the year with the Oilers before being traded in December to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the deal that sent goaltender Tristan Jarry to Edmonton. His Penguins debut came against his former club on Dec. 16, and just over a month later he lined up across from them again.
Now the journey has taken yet another turn.
Just before the trade deadline, Pittsburgh dealt Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick. The move placed him on his third team in as many months — and set up yet another reunion with the franchise he once helped push to consecutive Western Conference titles.
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Kulak knows exactly what kind of challenge awaits.
“They’re a high-octane offense, obviously very dangerous; they know how to put the puck in the net. I’m just looking…to limit time and space, have good gaps, and make sure your legs are ready to work.”
And that starts with the league’s most dangerous weapon.
Connor McDavid, the Oilers’ captain, leads all NHL skaters this season with a top speed of 24.61 mph, according to NHL EDGE tracking. His pace is matched only by his production: McDavid has piled up 35 goals and a league-leading 73 assists for a league-best 108 points.
Connor McDavid is one of the greatest hockey players of this generation. Credit: Neville E. Guard
Containing that kind of firepower requires a full-team effort.
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If Colorado hopes to slow Edmonton down, it will take more than Kulak’s familiarity with his former teammates. Every Avalanche skater will need to stay disciplined, manage gaps, and be prepared for the relentless pace the Oilers bring every night.
Still, even with his insider knowledge, Kulak said the Avalanche’s approach isn’t built around tailoring the game plan to one opponent — or worrying about what his former teammates might know about his tendencies.
The Hockey News asked Kulak whether facing a team so familiar with his style requires strategic adjustments. He said the focus remains largely internal.
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“Lots of our meetings here is pretty much all about us and the style we want to play,” he explained. “Those are the things I take from the meetings. There’s a couple things you’re obviously keeping in mind on the style of play, the team you’re playing against brings in, but for the most part, I think we’re playing our game.”
Head coach Jared Bednar echoed that philosophy, noting that in today’s NHL, information is readily available — basically Spygate 2.0, now with 4K video and no sneaky cameras.
“There’s just so much information out there,” he told The Hockey News. “The best way to break down the Oilers or any other team is just watch. We have every shift of every game available to us. So you spend the time, you watch it, you learn tendencies of individuals of their team, what the structure of their team is. You give your team the pertinent information and you go from there.
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“On a day like today, I go through it all and ask Brett, ‘Did I miss anything that’s important?’ He’s like, ‘Pretty much nailed it.’ The information is there for you to watch and learn and all the coaches kind of do the same thing in their respective areas. So there’s no real secrets nowadays.”
For Kulak, the situation almost feels like a spy returning to familiar territory — only now he’s wearing different colors.
And against an Oilers team built on speed and skill, that knowledge could prove valuable, even in a league where, as Bednar put it, there are no secrets left.
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