The Athletic released its annual top-10 lists of the best and worst contracts in the NHL, and one Colorado Avalanche defenseman found himself on the wrong list.

According to the list, Brett Kulak is listed as No. 8 among the league’s worst contracts. The pending unrestricted free agent signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract ($4.5 million AAV) on June 26.

The 32-year-old was acquired after the Olympic break from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Samuel Girard and a second-round pick. In his half a season with the Avs, he helped solidify the top four and ended the season on the second pair with Sam Malinski. Kulak also got some playing time with Cale Makar on the top pair.

The Athletic argues that Kulak had a “sudden and epic decline” last season, using relative impact on expected goals as their main analytic to determine his level of play.

“His drop-off at five-on-five wasn’t exactly an isolated incident; it was consistent across three different playoff teams,” the author wrote. “Kulak’s relative impact on xG was minus-0.48 in Edmonton, minus-0.14 in Pittsburgh, and a ghastly minus-1.2 in Colorado. In all three locales, his impact on goals was even worse.”

My Thoughts

I vehemently disagree. You can look at all sorts of analytics and likely find ways in which Kulak was both a positive or negative factor. His arrival to the Avs gave them more of what they were missing on the blueline. His impact in the playoffs was strong to start before diminishing in the Western Conference Final, which was a common theme among pretty much all of their skaters.

Kulak making $4.5 million is nowhere near the worst contracts in the league in 2026. Given where contracts are going, paying a third-pair defenseman $4.5 million in 12 or 24 months will be common practice. Kulak is settled in nicely on the second pair and will likely look far better in a season that doesn’t involve playing for a contract and getting traded twice.

The five-year term is the biggest issue I had with the deal when it was signed, but even that doesn’t seem like much given the rising cap and the fact that he’s just 32 years old. Kulak will be 37 years old when his contract expires, which is the same age Josh Manson will be after playing the two-year deal that begins this season carrying a $3.95 million AAV. Ultimately, it’s a very tradeable contract.

There are definite possibilities in which this doesn’t work out. All contracts are a risk, especially longer ones given to depth players on the wrong side of 30. But even in those scenarios, it’s hard to envision this being among the 10 worst in the league. The level of risk, given the cap hit, is not nearly as bad as other albotross deals like the one that tops the list, Jonathan Huberdeau.