As NHL players are starting to come back home, things are starting to ramp up back in the league.

Kyle Dubas, who was in Milan with Team Canada at the Winter Olympics, wasted no time working the phones once the tournament wrapped up.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Penguins traded defenseman Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Samuel Girard and a second-round pick in 2028.

Trading Kulak was always a possibility for the Penguins. The left-handed defenseman was acquired along with a 2029 second-round pick and goaltender Stuart Skinner in the Tristan Jarry trade with Edmonton. Kulak was in the final year of his deal, which made him the perfect trade candidate for the Penguins.

A rental like him could fetch the Penguins additional assets, further benefitting from the desperation the Oilers were in to switch up their goaltending. In addition to getting a pick, the Penguins will also bring a new face in.

Girard is also a left-shot defenseman who might take exactly the spot that Kulak will vacate. At 27, Girard his playing his ninth year in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche back in 2022, although he suffered injury and was limited to seven games during that run.

At his peak, he’s a blue liner who can move the puck and is creative in space; he registered careers highs in goals (six), assists (31) and points (37) during a 76-game season in 2022-23.

He also knows how to stay out of the penalty box. He’s never had more than 20 penalty minutes in a year, and has 15 so far this season. For reference, each of the six regular defenders for the Penguins have more than that.

But there are some defensive deficiencies in his game. He’s a little undersized for your typical defenseman at 5′ 10 and about 170 pounds, and struggles to sometimes make the right read on a rush. However, on a stellar Colorado team this year, he was a +12, the best mark of his career.

On the surface, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for Colorado. They give up a defenseman who has a lot of decent parts in his game and is five years younger than Kulak, and attach a pick to make the deal work.

But money is potentially a big part of this deal. Girard has this year and next year remaining on seven-year contract he signed that accounts for $5 million against the salary cap.

Girard’s role on Colorado’s blue line has certainly diminished this season. He averaged 17:41 a night for the Avalanche this season, his lowest average since he was traded to Colorado in a three-team trade in 2017. His offensive production has also fallen. He’s on pace for 20 points this season, which would be his second-lowest point total in Colorado.

Paying that much for a mostly third-pairing defenseman who hasn’t shown quite as high of a scoring touch this season isn’t the most financially savvy decision.

Kulak, by comparison, is making just $2.75 million and is on an expiring deal. It wouldn’t surprise me at all is this is trade is a precursor to another deal, one that they needed some additional flexibility to make.

But for the Penguins, who already have more room to work with, this trade makes a ton of sense. Not only do they pick up a decent defenseman to try and bolster an ailing side of their team, they also pick up a second-round pick in the process.

Dubas has spent the last year and a half stockpiling draft picks for the next several years. The Penguins took 13 players in this summer’s draft (the most since 1994), including three in the first round (the first time since 1984). This season, Dubas has deployed some of that additional draft capital in other ways.

Back in December, he sent a second-rounder in 2026 and a third-rounder in 2027 to Columbus for winger Egor Chinakov. That trade has paid off pretty well for the Penguins so far. Now, he has an additional second to work with, should he chose to use it in a trade. The Penguins now have three second-rounders in 2028.

It’s unclear yet what other plans the Penguins might have. With the Olympic break pigeonholing a nearly three-week break in the schedule, life is going to come at NHL executives fast. Play resumes tomorrow, and the trade deadline is on March 6th. Pittsburgh has just ten days and five games until that deadline.