Brett Kulak Traded to Avalanche as Penguins Flip Assets for Samuel Girard and 2028 Second‑Round Pick

The trade sending Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick matters because it widens Pittsburgh's draft currency and swaps a pending free agent for a multi-year, puck-moving left-shot defender. This transaction immediately increases the Penguins’ short-term defensive options while expanding their stockpile of selections: the team now holds 34 draft picks over the next four drafts, including 20 picks in the first three rounds.

Brett Kulak’s departure shifts draft leverage and roster math

The Penguins traded Kulak to Colorado on Tuesday afternoon in a deal that brings back Samuel Girard plus a 2028 second-round pick. Team management is continuing a pattern of using available salary-cap room to accumulate picks and roster pieces. Kyle Dubas is making moves again, and this trade is presented as both a roster adjustment and another example of leveraging cap space to add future assets.

What the incoming piece brings — Samuel Girard’s profile and contract

Samuel Girard, 27, arrives signed through the 2026-27 season with an average annual value of $5 million. He is a 2022 Stanley Cup Champion currently in his ninth NHL season, having split his career between Colorado and the Nashville Predators. This season he has three goals, nine assists and 12 points with a plus-12 rating in 40 games.

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Girard’s career totals include 37 goals, 198 assists and 235 points in 588 NHL games; his playoff totals are three goals, 25 assists and 28 points in 67 postseason games. His best statistical season came in 2022-23 when he posted six goals, 31 assists and 37 points in 76 games with Colorado.

Draft capital and asset accumulation — the numbers changed

With the added 2028 second-round pick, Pittsburgh now has 34 draft picks over the next four NHL drafts, which includes 20 selections in the first three rounds. No team has more selections over the first three rounds in the next four drafts than the Penguins. The front office is treating those selections as both prospect-building tools and tradable currency for future roster moves.

• Multiple second-round picks in each of the next four drafts (now confirmed with the 2028 pick).
• Multiple third-round picks in each of the next three drafts (as described in the trade context).
• Net gain of eight picks in the first three rounds across the next four drafts, bolstering prospect depth and trade flexibility.

Trade chain and roster strategy — where Brett Kulak fits in the bigger picture

This move adds another branch to the growing Tristan Jarry trade tree. The Penguins initially acquired Brett Kulak, along with goalie Stuart Skinner and a 2029 second-round pick, from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Tristan Jarry earlier this season. With the Girard-for-Kulak swap complete, the sequence means the Penguins have effectively turned Jarry and his contract into Stuart Skinner, Samuel Girard and two second-round picks.

The real question now is how Colorado will use the cap space freed by moving Girard; the context notes the Avalanche likely wanted salary relief to pursue another big move to add forward depth, but what they do next will be fascinating. The deal is framed in the context material as a salary-dump maneuver for Colorado and a cap-enabled acquisition for Pittsburgh.

Here’s the part that matters for roster construction: Girard is described as a useful, puck-moving, left-shot defenseman under contract for next season — a positional need identified for Pittsburgh — while Brett Kulak is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season. The context frames this as a clear cap and positional swap rather than a lateral personnel exchange.

What’s easy to miss is the layering: this is both a short-term defensive reinforcement and a long-term draft-asset play. That duality is repeated across the context material describing the trade.

Short timeline and background points

• Girard played three seasons in the QMJHL with the Shawinigan Cataractes from 2014-17, recording 24 goals, 168 assists and 192 points in 190 games and earning multiple league honors (Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2015; Defenseman of the Year and Most Sportsmanlike Player in 2016; First All-Star Team in 2016 and 2017).
• He was drafted in the second round, 47th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators.
• He was part of the 2022 Stanley Cup‑winning roster and posted career highs in 2022-23 (6 goals, 31 assists, 37 points in 76 games).

Even if Girard does not work out here he is still signed for fewer years than Tristan Jarry is; his contract comes off the books one — unclear in the provided context.

Key takeaways:

• Pittsburgh traded Brett Kulak to Colorado and received Samuel Girard plus a 2028 second-round pick.
• Girard is 27, signed through 2026-27 with a $5 million AAV, and is a left-shot, puck-moving defenseman with playoff experience.
• The Penguins now hold 34 draft picks across the next four drafts, with 20 picks in the first three rounds, increasing both prospect depth and trade flexibility.
• The move completes a longer sequence that began with Tristan Jarry’s trade; the organization converted Jarry’s contract into multiple assets including Stuart Skinner, Girard and second-round picks.

The context framing calls this both a salary-cap maneuver for Colorado and an organizational strategy play for Pittsburgh; details that remain unclear in the provided context include the precise timing beyond "Tuesday afternoon" for all roster implications and the unfinished note about how long Girard’s contract remains relative to Jarry’s full term. Recent updates indicate these details may evolve.