Brett Kulak has quietly become the Calgary Flames’ secret weapon. He’s a weapon in the sense that the 23-year-old has quietly put up impressive underlying numbers on the third pairing in each of the past two seasons. He’s a secret in the sense that he spent half the season on the Flames’ roster but didn’t really play all that much.
Kulak never played better hockey than he did in 2016-17. He also never played less hockey than he did this past season, and he’s at an interesting crossroads as the days run down on his entry-level deal. Because of the impending expansion draft, he’s likely in “move up or move out” territory.