Confirmed with Link: Flames Waive Brett Kulak (Spoiler: He Cleared)

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Bounces R Way

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Nov 18, 2013
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Might be the most vanilla player I've ever watched play for the Flames. Not a liability by any means but doesn't offer much in terms of offence and really isn't that special on defence. Would rather Valamaki or Kylington in his spot. However I'd still like to see Stone moved for a pick as the best option.

This is definitely a negotiating tactic for the upcoming arbitration case.
 

JPeeper

Hail Satan!
Jan 4, 2015
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Yeah it's negotiation technique but I am fairly confident Ollie or Vali take his spot at camp this year, Ollie should have last year he played better than him.

Now just move Stone and go with two rooks on the bottom pairing.
 

SmellOfVictory

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Jun 3, 2011
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Nothing bad has ever happened with Brad Treliving waiving a guy, right?
lol I was thinking similarly. He's a lot like Byron in that he's a bottom rotation guy, but he's a pretty good bottom rotation guy. Losing him isn't necessarily the end of the world, unless they replace him with someone worse (which is certainly possible, and did happen when the Flames lost Byron).
 

Mr Snrub

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Oct 12, 2016
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Yeah it's negotiation technique but I am fairly confident Ollie or Vali take his spot at camp this year, Ollie should have last year he played better than him.

Now just move Stone and go with two rooks on the bottom pairing.

A two-rookie defense pairing is a wild ride Flames fans are not going to like, regarded of how good those rookies are.
 

Anglesmith

Setting up the play?
Sep 17, 2012
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lol I was thinking similarly. He's a lot like Byron in that he's a bottom rotation guy, but he's a pretty good bottom rotation guy. Losing him isn't necessarily the end of the world, unless they replace him with someone worse (which is certainly possible, and did happen when the Flames lost Byron).
In fairness, Byron had shown a lot more than Kulak has.
 

Corpus X

Wearing Stanley's cup.
May 24, 2014
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Kulak must be asking for more than the Flames are willing to offer, which means this is a good decision to make if it does go to arbitration. Stone would be a good option to trade because of the cap but this move will make other teams think twice because of the time restraint for the hearing. I'm not worried about a 3rd pairing D with the depth the Flames have.
 

OvermanKingGainer

#BennettFreed #CurseofTheSpulll #FreeOliver
Feb 3, 2015
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In fairness, Byron had shown a lot more than Kulak has.

Byron also played for an NHL caliber coach who generally got the most out of depth players not named Bollig.

Under Gully we managed to turn Mangiapane from an AHL point producer into a 0pt scrub, Bennett from a 38pt guy on the upswing into a 26 pt guy regularily found on the trade board for team's junk so he can get a "change of scenery", Jankowski from a pass first playmaker into an 8 assist guy, a better Kylington got into fewer games, Shinkaruk fell off the map despite looking like a potential poor man's Hudler the year prior, etc.

Gulutzan might be the worst coach ever for young players. Did not trust anyone who wasn't a 29 year old scrub and set kids up to fail.

Despite that Kulak was pretty dominant for his role and carried his pairing.
 

Anglesmith

Setting up the play?
Sep 17, 2012
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Byron also played for an NHL caliber coach who generally got the most out of depth players not named Bollig.

Under Gully we managed to turn Mangiapane from an AHL point producer into a 0pt scrub, Bennett from a 38pt guy on the upswing into a 26 pt guy regularily found on the trade board for team's junk so he can get a "change of scenery", Jankowski from a pass first playmaker into an 8 assist guy, a better Kylington got into fewer games, Shinkaruk fell off the map despite looking like a potential poor man's Hudler the year prior, etc.

Gulutzan might be the worst coah ever for young players.

Despite that Kulak was pretty dominant for his role and carried his pairing.

Meh. Hartley coached a system that insulated his players better. As long as the team played it, no individual would get exposed. You had to be really really (Shane O'Brien) bad at hockey to look bad as a defenceman in that system. But Byron was special in that he could create things unlike others on the team. We should have kept him around. Kulak was our sixth best defenceman last year, but has youth on his side and generally seems to have a good knowledge for the game. I'm not sure his raw tools can impact the game the way Byron's can, and I think unlike Byron, we can immediately replace Kulak with others who are just as ready and will have pretty much the same impact on the game.
 
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super6646

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Apr 16, 2018
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Byron also played for an NHL caliber coach who generally got the most out of depth players not named Bollig.

Under Gully we managed to turn Mangiapane from an AHL point producer into a 0pt scrub, Bennett from a 38pt guy on the upswing into a 26 pt guy regularily found on the trade board for team's junk so he can get a "change of scenery", Jankowski from a pass first playmaker into an 8 assist guy, a better Kylington got into fewer games, Shinkaruk fell off the map despite looking like a potential poor man's Hudler the year prior, etc.

Gulutzan might be the worst coach ever for young players. Did not trust anyone who wasn't a 29 year old scrub and set kids up to fail.

Despite that Kulak was pretty dominant for his role and carried his pairing.

I mean Tkachuk was thrown out to the wolves early and did well, so I mean there is that. But for the most part, our younger players did pretty poorly under him.
 

Volica

Papa Shango
May 15, 2012
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I mean Tkachuk was thrown out to the wolves early and did well, so I mean there is that. But for the most part, our younger players did pretty poorly under him.

Not sure anyone could have stopped Chucky from doing well. The guy's got elite potential and showed it right away.
 

Volica

Papa Shango
May 15, 2012
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Yeah it's negotiation technique but I am fairly confident Ollie or Vali take his spot at camp this year, Ollie should have last year he played better than him.

Now just move Stone and go with two rooks on the bottom pairing.

The way it sounds:

giphy.gif


The way it'll actually be:

tenor.gif
 

Mobiandi

Registered User
Jan 17, 2015
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I was kind of surprised Tkachuk stayed up after his first 9 games. I thought his play was kind of lackluster. Credit to him, he's only gotten better and better since then
 

CamPopplestone

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Sep 27, 2017
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Kulak is fine. He's an ok #6, might end up an ok #5. #4 is absolute ceiling but I doubt it. Issue is Andersson is a player with a much higher ceiling, and honestly will probably be better this season, and I think he makes the team .

That leaves Kulak the #7 in the pressbox, which isn't doing anyone favors, player or team. Injury depth is nice, but you'll generally want your extra to be a guy like Prout, it doesn't matter if he sits in the pressbox 30 games in a row. He is what he is, he can be cold. If we get injuries, it will probably be Kylington or Valimaki getting the recall, slowly getting them adjusted for taking over in two years when Stone is off the books. We can cook those guys in the minors longer. Kulak won't get better in the minors at this point, but he can't afford to sit out games in the NHL either.

I don't see this as much as a straight knock on Kulak as it is a big vote of confidence on Andersson
 

SmellOfVictory

Registered User
Jun 3, 2011
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The way it sounds:

giphy.gif


The way it'll actually be:

tenor.gif
Gif game on point, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Valimaki and Andersson were better than Kulak and Stone. Stone is an idiot most of the time and has terrible breakout ability, and Kulak is decent but not irreplaceable.
 

MonyontheMoney

Registered User
Apr 5, 2015
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I think he’s still likely back. I think under normal circumstances he gets claimed, but being unable to walk away from his arbitration award and little time to prepare/negotiate probably puts together a perfect storm of “unknowns” to deter anyone from actually claiming him.
 

Johnny Hoxville

The Return of a Legend
Jul 15, 2006
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I’m quite surprised he got waived to be honest, he’s not a waiver caliber player. He’s a legit bottom pairing guy with good skating and puck moving skills. However he has a limited ceiling and I think the Flames know they have 3 guys coming that all have top 4 upside. Anyways I fully expect Kulak to clear so he should hopefully be back.
 

Fig

Absolute Horse Shirt
Dec 15, 2014
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Kulak is fine. He's an ok #6, might end up an ok #5. #4 is absolute ceiling but I doubt it. Issue is Andersson is a player with a much higher ceiling, and honestly will probably be better this season, and I think he makes the team .

Once upon a time, I think similar things were said about TJ Brodie. There are legitimate fears of Kulak being claimed. OKG might be out to lunch with how he's evaluating Kulak's play, but IMO, Kulak could be a late bloomer who could exceed a #4 role later in his career.
 

Bosnian Beast

Formerly Janko Unchained
Dec 30, 2010
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Byron also played for an NHL caliber coach who generally got the most out of depth players not named Bollig.

Under Gully we managed to turn Mangiapane from an AHL point producer into a 0pt scrub, Bennett from a 38pt guy on the upswing into a 26 pt guy regularily found on the trade board for team's junk so he can get a "change of scenery", Jankowski from a pass first playmaker into an 8 assist guy, a better Kylington got into fewer games, Shinkaruk fell off the map despite looking like a potential poor man's Hudler the year prior, etc.

Gulutzan might be the worst coach ever for young players. Did not trust anyone who wasn't a 29 year old scrub and set kids up to fail.

Despite that Kulak was pretty dominant for his role and carried his pairing.
Because those ten games are a HUGE sample size of Mangiapane's capacity to play in the NHL. He's done, he's a scrub forever now. Just like Brett Kulak is a bonified NHL defenceman after one NHL season where he played 71 games, and 101 total.

I don't dislike Kulak, I think he is a decent #6 D-man, but you're acting like the sky is literally crumbling in front of your eyes. Then again, that's kind of your shtick.
 
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