BLOG: Kulak ready to make his mark long term for the Oilers

EDMONTON, AB - Finally, Brett Kulak is home.
The Stony Plain product committed to a four-year contract back on July 13 with the team he grew up cheering for.
"It's a special feeling. They always had that pull from the get-go being the hometown team," Kulak said. "My experience I had there to finish up the season was so positive, so it's exciting to be re-signed."
For the first time in his career, Kulak was able to explore the open waters of NHL Free Agency. The defender was fresh off a solid playoff run with the Oilers where he averaged 17:06 per game on the way to a Western Conference Final run, so there was some demand for the reliable rearguard. After weighing all his options, it was determined Edmonton was the best choice for both Kulak's career and his family.
"It came down to you only might get one chance to hit the market in free agency. The situation I was in was kind of like, let's see how it is and see what happens and what the day brought," Kulak said. "There were some things on the table, but the balance of the things I was hoping to get in my next contract as far as opportunity, a good team, and dollar value -- the balance of those things was Edmonton and it was a no brainer for my wife and I to settle there."

When Kulak was acquired at the deadline in a deal with the Montreal Canadiens, the expectation was that the Oilers would get a steady depth addition for their backend once the playoffs came around. The post-season is a war of attrition and having an experienced defender who has the versatility to move up and down the line-up paid huge dividends for head coach Jay Woodcroft and his staff.
It wouldn't be known how valuable the pick-up would be until late in the regular season. In an April 22 game against the Colorado Avalanche, the Oilers top minute munching defenceman Darnell Nurse sustained a core injury which hampered the defender down the stretch and into the playoffs. Although Nurse gutted out significant performances in the post-season, he was down 3:56 per game in ice time that needed to be picked up by the rest of the Oilers defence. It was Kulak who stepped up his game in the crunch time of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The defenceman would finish the Oilers post-season run second on the team with a plus-7 rating, leading all Oilers blueliners, while adding five assists in the 16 games. Now with 34 games under his belt and the retirement of Duncan Keith, Kulak is looking to parlay both success and opportunity into becoming a fixture on the Oilers blueline for the foreseeable future.

"I'm 28 and I feel like I'm just entering the prime of my career physically and mentally," he said. "I feel like I'm really coming into my game here. At this point I want an opportunity to play a big role on a team, that's when you're having the most fun -- when you're playing big minutes, night in and night out and you're really contributing to a team's success. That was a big priority for me to seek out in free agency."
Outside of the hometown ties, the decision to come back was made easier by the people inside the Oilers organization.
"The way the guys brought me into the locker room and Woody and Ken, they were awesome and made the transition easy for me," Kulak said. "Getting to know the guys over the last few months was awesome. When they heard I resigned with the team I got a lot of texts and everyone was excited to have me back."
By retaining Kulak, the Oilers are able to continue their off-season trend of continuity on and off the ice. The organization started by locking down
Jay Woodcroft to a multi-year extension
and followed up with the pre-free agency
extension handed out to Evander Kane
. Outside of Duncan Keith's retirement and the signing of Jack Campbell, the Oilers roster currently remains largely the same as the one that made it to the Western Conference Final. The continuity of a returning team and coaching staff helped seal the deal for Kulak's return.

"That's always a good feeling knowing when I'm coming to training camp and I know the system already in place and what we want to do and the game style we want to play," he said. "Coming into the year, we know the expectation we know the standard. We know where we got this year and it's nice when you bring back familiar guys. Holland getting Kaner back is awesome, he brought a lot of experience to our team last year. When you don't have to bring in too many different pieces, it gives you a bit of a head start heading into the season."
Now that Kulak is officially here for the long haul, the biggest question for the Alberta product and former member of the Calgary Flames is: can he get the rest of his family to start repping the Blue & Orange?
"Maybe, I don't know right away, but definitely over the years," Kulak said. "We have big expectations in the Oilers to make some deep playoff runs and that always brings some new fans on board when you're doing that stuff. Eventually, we'll get them all on board."