Brett Kulak’s 23:25 Run Haunts Oilers After First-Round Exit — Kulak Nhl
kulak nhl became a harder story to ignore after Edmonton’s first-round exit against the Anaheim Ducks. Brett Kulak had been a steady piece for the Oilers, but the team traded him away before the postseason and then watched the playoffs end without him on the roster.
Kulak Nhl and Edmonton’s exit
The Oilers were eliminated in the first round by Anaheim, ending a five-year streak in which fans had seen the team play beyond that stage. Kulak’s absence sat right inside that result, because he had been trusted by Kris Knoblauch in all situations and had logged major minutes during Edmonton’s deepest recent run.
He averaged 23:25 in ice time over 22 games during the Oilers’ 2025 Stanley Cup Final run. He also produced one goal and four assists in those games, a workload that showed why Edmonton leaned on him when the games tightened.
Tristan Jarry and the trade
Edmonton moved Kulak and Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh in the deal that brought back Tristan Jarry. Jarry posted a.858 save percentage in 19 regular season games with the Oilers and worked as the backup goalie during the final stretch of the regular season.
That trade did not just change the crease. Through five playoff games, Jarry made one start, while the Oilers no longer had Kulak available on the back end when the series speed tilted toward Anaheim.
Ty Emberson’s six games
Ty Emberson dressed in all six playoff games after Kulak was removed from the roster, averaging 12:11 of ice time. The Oilers used the depth defender in a role that was smaller than the one Kulak had filled, and the difference showed against a Ducks team that looked much faster through five games of the series.
Kulak’s Oilers tenure began partway through the 2021-22 season, and it ended after 75 playoff games in Edmonton. The club now heads into the 2025-26 season with the reality of that first-round loss and the memory of a defender who had been part of back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final before he was traded away.
