Oilers Missed Brett Kulak in a Big Way in the Playoffs

Edmonton Oilers fans are in a strange spot this year. After watching their team advance to the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years, they were eliminated this time around in the first round at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks. It marks the first time in five years that Oilers fans haven’t watched their team play games past the first round of the playoffs.

There were a multitude of reasons for the Oilers’ struggles this season. While many attribute the first-round exit due to top players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl battling injuries, the fact of the matter is that this team was as inconsistent as it gets throughout the entire 2025-26 season.

This team lacked depth in several areas compared to seasons past. They lacked secondary scoring, had worse goaltending, and didn’t have as much depth on the back end. On top of that, it felt as though the message from head coach Kris Knoblauch had run its course with this group, which is why there is plenty of talk about a new coach being behind the bench for the 2026-27 season.

Not helping matters whatsoever was general manager (GM) Stan Bowman. He has hurt this team with several moves, including an eight-year extension handed to Trent Frederic last offseason. He also moved out Stuart Skinner for a worse goaltender in Tristan Jarry. That said, it was another asset moved out in that Jarry trade that really hurt the Oilers this season.

Oilers Felt Kulak’s Absence

With the Oilers desperate to upgrade their goaltending situation, they chose to trade both Skinner and Brett Kulak to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The big acquisition heading their way in the deal was Jarry, who wound up posting a horrific .858 save percentage (SV%) in 19 regular season games with the Oilers.

To no surprise given his struggles, Jarry served as the Oilers back-up goalie during the final stretch of the regular season, and has made just one start through five playoff games. Things have gotten so bad in such a short time that there are already some suggesting they should bury him in the American Hockey League (AHL) next season.

As for Kulak, he was acquired by the Oilers partway through the 2021-22 season, and wound up logging a combined 75 playoff games during his tenure with the organization. While not a flashy defenceman, he was a very steady presence on the back end, and also had the ability to play on either side.

Kulak’s role was particularly big during the Oilers’ second-straight run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2025, where he averaged 23:25 in ice time over 22 games. He also chipped in offensively with a goal and four helpers. More importantly, he was a defenceman Knoblauch could trust in all situations.

Part of what made Kulak such a steady presence on the Oilers back end was his great skating ability. He very rarely, if ever, was burned past by opposing players on the rush, and always had good gap on opposing teams rushes thanks to his skating. That would be crucial against a Ducks team that has appeared much faster than the Oilers through five games of this series.

Oilers Thinned Out Their Blue Line

Without Kulak on the roster, the Oilers were instead forced to dress Ty Emberson in all six playoff games. The 25-year-old, who is nothing more than a depth defenceman, averaged just 12:11 of ice time in those six outings. In other words, the coaching staff didn’t trust him to log any sort of minutes.

Had Kulak been available, it would have allowed for Knoblauch to better deploy his defencemen by spreading out ice time in a better manner. Instead, he was forced to ride his top four in Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, and Connor Murphy much more than he would have liked.

Many will point to the fact that Kulak was likely going elsewhere this offseason, as the now-Colorado Avalanche blueliner is set to become an unrestricted free agent. That said, keeping him would have kept their back end much stronger for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and could very well have helped them squeak past the Ducks. It was yet another blunder from management, which, unfortunately for Oilers fans, has been the case with this team for far too long.