Treliving waives D-man Kulak
The Calgary Flames and restricted free agent Brett Kulak are scheduled to meet Monday in an arbitration faceoff.
If, that is, Kulak is still on their roster then.
In a surprise move, the Flames placed the 24-year-old defenceman on waivers Thursday, a hint that the two sides haven’t found much common ground in contract negotiations.
The Flames have a club policy to not comment during the waiver window, but general manager Brad Treliving is presumably gambling that Kulak will not be claimed prior to Friday’s 10 a.m. MT deadline. If 30 other teams pass, that would bolster Calgary’s case that his value is not as high as his salary demands, which are unknown.
Kulak established himself as a full-timer at the Saddledome last season while skating on a twoway deal worth a salary-cap hit of US$656,667.
Working the left side on Calgary ’s third pair, the 6-foot-2, 187lb. rearguard recorded two goals, six assists and 27 penalty minutes in 71 outings during the 2017-18 campaign.
He has totalled a pair of tallies and 11 points in 101 career contests at the big-league level.
If Kulak is lost on the waiverwire, blue-chip prospect Juuso Valimaki — the 19-year-old was the Flames’ first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft — would top the list of potential replacements in the opening-night lineup.
Beyond Valimaki, Oliver Kylington would be the next best option among left-handers.
Rasmus Andersson and Dalton Prout are also in the mix, but both fire from the right side.
Kulak is one of four arbitration cases on the docket for Treliving & Co.
Centre Mark Jankowski (July 27), goalie David Rittich (July 28) and right-winger Garnet Hathaway (July 30) also have hearings scheduled.
Draft-day trade acquisition Elias Lindholm filed for arbitration, but the 23-year-old forward inked a six-year, US$29.1-million deal with the Flames earlier this week.