Kulak, Girard trade a win for Avalanche and Penguins

In one of the first trades coming out of the Olympic break, the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Brett Kulak.

The trade gives the Avalanche a veteran blueliner in Kulak who can provide some needed depth, while the Penguins acquire a skilled defender in Girard who can provide secondary offense on the back end.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss Tuesday’s trade and if any team came out ahead in the grand scheme of things.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Did either side come out ahead in this deal in your eyes?

Carter Hutton: I think time will tell … in the immediate future, if Colorado is a team that’s looking to win a Stanley Cup, Brett Kulak helps you in that sense. I think back to Samuel Girard being on the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup team, but he was hurt.

Maybe Colorado was thinking of what they already have in Cale Makar and Devon Toews who can move the puck. Now you have a guy like Kulak who can move up and down the lineup and log in big minutes. For Pittsburgh, they get a guy who is more offensively inclined, especially as Kris Letang starts to age out.

I think for both teams, this trade works. But in the sense of “who wins this trade,” we’ll have to see how Colorado does in the immediate future.

Tyler Yaremchuk: A clear win for both teams, and not necessarily that Girard or Kulak have a massive difference, but I think maybe for what Colorado wants, there is. Kulak has been on a couple playoff runs, making back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances with the Edmonton Oilers. Some people question Girard’s size and how effective he got when the games got tighter in the playoffs.

On the surface, it makes a ton of sense.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…