In terms of players that have aged like fine wine, look no further than Brett Kulak.

He’s quietly been an incredibly important addition to this Edmonton Oilers team since he arrived in March 2022. Not only was he solid for them when they acquired him, but he’s shown an ability to continue to improve and this year was no different.

While the defensive side of the game has always been a place he excelled, this season was a career year offensively for the rear guard, scoring career highs in goals, assists and points, with seven, 18 and 25, respectively. All the while, Kulak set career highs in ice-time and average time on ice.

He continued to provide great defensive numbers for the Oilers, as with him on the ice the team controlled all of the shot attempt share, scoring chance share and expected goal share. His actual goals against numbers and goal share were, but a 96.3 PDO indicates those numbers could improve.

Those solid defensive metrics continued into the playoffs, where his goal metrics improved significantly to the tune of 1.4 goals against per hour and a 60 percent goal share.

Individually, Kulak’s impacts continued to be excellent, driving offence at a two percent rate above league average, defence at a seven percent rate above league average and work on the penalty kill at a six percent rate above league average, according to Hockey Viz. In total, his overall contributions were that of a defenceman above a high-end first-pairing defenceman.

There were some warts in his game during the playoffs when he was asked to play on his off-side, but you can’t deny how solid his game was otherwise, especially considering he carries a cap hit of just $2.75-million.

Kulak is entering the final year of a four-year extension he signed at that dollar amount, and is set to hit unrestricted free agency. The Oilers will have to make a decision within the next 11 months about whether or not Kulak is a fit moving forward. According to Evolving Hockey, his next deal is projected to be a four-year contract carrying a $3.96-million cap hit.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.