Player Discussion Brett Kulak: Top pairing candidate #6

[dcyhabs]

I'm seeing a late bloomer trend.. fringe top 4 depending on his partner. You are not wrong with the you sit if you don't listen to the coaches narrative. I think Kulak is underrated in terms of the depth he provides us and his ability to adapt to the multiple partners we throw at him. He's got 4 guys ahead of him to learn from too

Anybody can be top 4 with the right partner, Mete with Weber, Komisarek with Markov...

 

[Habs Halifax]

Anybody can be top 4 with the right partner, Mete with Weber, Komisarek with Markov...

Some are fringe types yes where you can have them play that spot.

 

[dcyhabs]

Some are fringe types yes where you can have them play that spot.

It can make it really hard to evaluate the players. You put Komisarek with Markov, Markov does 75% of the work and Komisarek can look really good only making the plays that he can make well. Same with Mete and Weber, Weber does most of the heavy lifting and Mete looks like he can cope on his own as a top 4 in the NHL at 18. The challenge is to evaluate who is a difference maker and who is a passenger.

 

[Habs Halifax]

It can make it really hard to evaluate the players. You put Komisarek with Markov, Markov does 75% of the work and Komisarek can look really good only making the plays that he can make well. Same with Mete and Weber, Weber does most of the heavy lifting and Mete looks like he can cope on his own as a top 4 in the NHL at 18. The challenge is to evaluate who is a difference maker and who is a passenger.

Usually, ice time/usage is where I focus. Look at the Hedman/Rutta pairing. Hedman gets 25:23 a game and Rutta is at 16:40. How can that be? Basically the difference is PK and PP.

 

[Tyson]

Kulak is the one D we need to re sign.
His skating was made for this style of play MSL has instituted.
He has looked great since he has been allowed to simply play hockey.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Kulak is the one D we need to re sign.
His skating was made for this style of play MSL has instituted.
He has looked great since he has been allowed to simply play hockey.

Not a fan of his game at all, but he’s not the worst on our defence.

 

[CAUFIELD]

I don’t understand the hate honestly. I find he is good defending and great carrying the puck. Underrated

 

[Bouboumaster]

Would keep him if he comes cheap, he's a pretty reliable/good bottom pair guy

 

[ReHabs]

Kulak is the one D we need to re sign.
His skating was made for this style of play MSL has instituted.
He has looked great since he has been allowed to simply play hockey.

If the MSL system requires mobility and agility, then that must be why Kulak has performed well so far in MSL's tenure... but I don't see how he's not replaceable.

I'd rather sell him for a 3rd or 2nd (if possible) and re-acquire him or someone like him in the summer for 1-1.5m a year.

 

[swimmer77]

I've always liked Kulak's puck movement and skating ability. From what I have seen out of him on the ice he seems like a really good teammate too. He's not a fighter but he will stand up for his teammates.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

He’s really a meh player imo, I don’t mind him as a 6th D, but he’s nothing more than that imo.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don’t understand the hate honestly. I find he is good defending and great carrying the puck. Underrated

Agreed. He's got flaws but for the role we have him playing in, he's fine. I do think we are going to trade him and it might be a 3rd rounder or 4th. Something like that. Big boy that skates well and a solid depth guy to have for your playoff run in case of injuries of if you have another smaller type that is being taken advantage of.

Seems to look better with Petry and we have seen that before. I guess he is the type that needs a partner better than him.

 

[Habs Halifax]

He’s really a meh player imo, I don’t mind him as a 6th D, but he’s nothing more than that imo.

When you look across the NHL, he's certainly a decent bottom pairing guy. On the top teams, he is depth and on the bottom teams, he is a fringe top 4D. That's how I see his game