Brett Kulak’s 23:25 playoff load showed what Edmonton lost
brett kulak spent 23:25 a night in Edmonton’s 2025 playoff run, and the Oilers felt that missing piece once he was gone. After trading him to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton fell in the first round to the Anaheim Ducks and missed the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in five years.
Kulak’s playoff minutes
Kulak logged 23:25 of ice time over 22 playoff games during the Oilers’ second straight run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2025. He also finished that run with one goal and four assists, production that came on top of the steady shifts Edmonton leaned on from its depth group.
He had arrived partway through the 2021-22 season and eventually totaled 75 playoff games with the Oilers. By the time the 2025 playoffs arrived, he had become a defenceman Kris Knoblauch could trust in all situations.
Penguins move and Edmonton gap
The trade that sent Kulak and Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh left Edmonton trying to cover more of the back end with less proven playoff time. Tristan Jarry came in and posted a.858 save percentage in 19 regular season games with the Oilers, then handled the backup job during the final stretch before making one start through five playoff games.
Without Kulak on the roster, Ty Emberson dressed in all six playoff games and averaged 12:11 of ice time. That shift shows where Edmonton had to go after moving a defender who had been used for major minutes in 2025, especially in a postseason where the group was already dealing with inconsistency and thinner depth on defense.
First-round exit for Edmonton
The Ducks eliminated the Oilers in the first round, ending the run before Edmonton could reach another Final. The club’s first-round exit also stopped a streak of five straight seasons reaching the Stanley Cup Final, a stretch that had helped define this core around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
For Edmonton, the Kulak trade now sits beside the bigger roster picture of the 2025-26 season and an eight-year extension already on the books for one of the team’s central stars. Losing a defenseman who averaged 23:25 in the previous postseason left the Oilers asking other depth pieces to absorb minutes they had not handled at that level.
