Brett Kulak traded to Avalanche for Samuel Girard, 2028 second-round pick
The Pittsburgh Penguins traded defenseman brett kulak to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday afternoon in exchange for Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round draft pick, a move that immediately alters Pittsburgh’s blue-line options and increases its collection of early-round draft selections.
Samuel Girard’s profile and recent form
Samuel Girard, 27, arrives in Pittsburgh signed through the 2026-27 season with an average annual value of $5 million. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound defenseman is a 2022 Stanley Cup Champion now 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.
Across 588 regular-season NHL games Girard has 37 goals, 198 assists and 235 points; in 67 career playoff games he has three goals, 25 assists and 28 points. His best campaign came in 2022-23 when he posted career highs with six goals, 31 assists and 37 points in 76 games with the Avalanche.
Before turning pro, Girard played three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Shawinigan Cataractes from 2014-17, registering 24 goals, 168 assists and 192 points in 190 junior games. He earned QMJHL honors in each season he played there, including Defensive Rookie of the Year, Defenseman of the Year, Most Sportsmanlike Player and First All-Star Team honors in 2016 and 2017. The Roberval, Quebec native was drafted in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators.
Brett Kulak heads to Colorado in a salary-cap swap
The Penguins sent brett kulak to Colorado on Tuesday afternoon as part of the exchange for Girard and the 2028 second-round pick. Kulak is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season, and the trade has been characterized as a salary-cap maneuver that sees the Avalanche part with a draft asset to move Girard’s remaining contract onto Pittsburgh’s books.
Kulak was a short-term addition for Pittsburgh this season; he originally joined the organization earlier this year in a package that brought him, goalie Stuart Skinner and a 2029 second-round pick from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Tristan Jarry. With the latest move complete, the Penguins have effectively converted Jarry and his contract into Stuart Skinner, Samuel Girard and two second-round draft picks.
The narrative that Jarry was on waivers a year ago, then in the American Hockey League and thought to have an unmovable contract is part of the trade’s backstory, and observers have noted how that sequence of moves reshaped Pittsburgh’s roster and assets.
What the trade adds to Pittsburgh’s draft cache
With the addition of the 2028 second-round pick, Pittsburgh’s draft inventory has grown substantially: the team now holds 34 draft picks over the next four NHL drafts, which includes 20 selections in the first three rounds. The organization also now has multiple second-round picks in each of the next four drafts and multiple third-round picks in each of the next three drafts, a configuration that amounts to 20 picks in the first three rounds over the next four drafts and a stated net gain of eight draft picks.
No team has more selections in the first three rounds across the next four drafts than the Penguins, a fact the roster builders have used repeatedly to add prospects or trade assets.
Avalanche’s cap strategy and Pittsburgh’s fit
The move leaves the Avalanche with cap room but without the 2028 second-round pick, and it has been described as a salary dump by observers: Colorado gave up a future pick to get the Penguins to absorb the remainder of Girard’s contract. Coverage has suggested the Avalanche wanted the freed salary-cap space for something else — perhaps another big move to add forward depth — and what they do next was called "fascinating" in commentary on the deal.
For Pittsburgh, Girard is a left-shot, puck-moving defenseman under contract beyond this season and viewed as a potential upgrade to the defense both this season and next. He remains 27 years old and is seen as fitting the Penguins’ current roster timeline. One contextual note from commentary: the line "His contract comes off the books one" is unclear in the provided context.
What’s next: Pittsburgh will integrate Girard into its defensive group and process the newly added draft assets; Colorado will carry the incoming roster change and available cap space into whatever transactions follow. The 2028 second-round pick is the next confirmed asset shifting hands as a result of this trade.
