The NHL is again and the Olympic break roster freeze was lifted. It did not take lengthy for motion to choose up because the Colorado Avalanche traded defenceman Samuel Girard and a 2nd spherical decide in 2028 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in alternate for defenceman Brett Kulak, per Evan Rawal.
Kulak is within the ultimate yr of his take care of a full-season cap hit of $2.75-million whereas Girard has one yr left with a cap hit of $5-million. Girard will likely be going into his age-29 season when he hits free company.
Let’s break it down.
What Pittsburgh Will get
When he was at his greatest a few years in the past, Girard was a second-pair defenceman who may take secondary matchups and drive the play:
A giant drawback for Girard has been staying wholesome. The season represented in that graphic was 2023-24, a season the place he missed 23 video games. He missed 15 video games again in 2021-22 and has already missed 15 video games this marketing campaign. Because the begin of the 2021-22 season, Girard has missed 18% of his crew’s common season video games, or about 15 video games per yr. That does not embrace his being damage midway by the second spherical of Colorado’s Stanley Cup run in 2022 and lacking the remainder of the postseason.
When Girard is wholesome and taking part in properly, he could be strong defensively and chip in offensively – he averaged 32 factors each 82 video games from 2021-2025. Leaving Colorado will put him in a worse place offensively, and the Penguins have 26 video games remaining. If he can put up 10 factors in these ultimate 26 video games, it is going to be a hit.
Girard additionally would not put up big peripherals. Simply 1 of his final 5 seasons has seen him common over successful per sport, he is by no means had a season with 80 hits, and his greatest yr for blocks was 2023-24 when he averaged 1.7 per sport. That’s good, however not elite. Moreover, he has by no means had a season with 1.6 photographs per sport and has been at 1.3 photographs per sport or much less for 3 straight years.
There will likely be deeper fantasy codecs the place Girard could have some streaming worth, however it is a participant who falls into the ‘Higher in Actual Life Than Fantasy’ bucket. He ought to see his ice time rise in Pittsburgh, and he supplies a little bit of safety for subsequent season on an getting older roster, however the upside remains to be low.
What Colorado Will get
At first blush, this looks like a method of shedding wage with out meaningfully altering the roster. The Avalanche nonetheless have Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Josh Manson signed, and so they just lately prolonged Sam Malinski. Even when Brent Burns retires, the Avalanche could have their high two pairs again subsequent season, with $5-million much less owed on the third pair.
Kulak’s ultimate season and a half in Edmonton had been a borderline catastrophe however he turned his mess around in Colorado and began performing like he did within the early components of his Oilers tenure. He has a bit extra offensive penchant than Girard does, however he is successfully a Girard 2.0 so far as fantasy is worried: can put up 1-1.5 photographs per sport, 1.5 blocks per sport, has low hit charges, and might chip in some factors. Like Girard has been this season, Kulak is a streamer in deep codecs and that is about it.
What this does is open a roster spot for Mikhail Gulyayev subsequent season. The 20-year-old defence prospect is presently signed with Avangard Omsk within the KHL, however his contract reportedly runs out on the finish of this season. He hasn’t been a dominant power within the KHL production-wise, however he is a high-skill prospect and now there is a clear path for him to be on the roster for 2026-27.
Who This Helps
Sam Malinski
Mikhail Gulyayev
Who This Hurts
