Last night, Brett Kulak advanced the Colorado Avalanche to the Western Conference Final, scoring the overtime game-winning goal to cap off a comeback from down 3-0 to win Game 5.

For Kulak, it’s been a crazy last few years. After making it to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final with his hometown team in Edmonton, Kulak has become the first player in NHL history to play at least 25 games for three teams in a single season.

Back in December, Kulak found himself traded to Pittsburgh in an effort by the Oilers to shore up their goaltending situation. In addition to shipping goalie Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh, the Oilers also sent Kulak and a second-round pick in 2029 in exchange for Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin.

The big win in that trade for Pittsburgh was getting out from Jarry’s contract, which still accounts for $5.375 million against the salary cap for another two years. Both Skinner and Kulak, meanwhile, were seen as potential trade chips for the Penguins to flip.

Skinner ultimately stayed, but the Penguins follow through on that idea with Kulak. After the left-shot helped stabilize the blue line for the Penguins midway through the year, he was flipped to Colorado about a week and a half before the trade deadline.

In return, the Penguins received defenseman Samuel Girard and a second-round pick in 2028.

Long term, it’s a trade that still suits the Penguins well. It gave Pittsburgh an additional premium pick in a year where, in all likelihood, the Penguins are more committed to the rebuild idea. It also gave the Penguins a roster player to supplement the loss of Kulak.

But from the standpoint of winning this season, the Kulak for Girard flip felt like maybe one move too many. Kulak, a more defensively sound mind on the blue line, was able to help keep a shoddy d-core afloat while he was in the lineup.

Girard’s style didn’t mesh quite as well in Pittsburgh. Though the lefty put up the same number of points (seven) in seven less games, his defensive lapses were more noticeable. Partnering with a struggling Kris Letang didn’t provide the best results in the Stanley Cup Playoffs either.

Ultimately, Girard only played a combined 26 games for the Penguins. It’s hard to assess whether next season and beyond he could fit in better with the team and head coach Dan Muse’s system. Some of it would obviously depend on how general manager Kyle Dubas handles the rest of the offseason.

But, it’s also more than possible that, based on what Dubas and the Penguins saw from him this season, the front office decides to flip Girard again.

Pittsburgh always had this option when they acquired the Stanley Cup Champion. Initially, the best chance to do that was probably at next year’s trade deadline, where the Penguins could minimize his cost and hopefully catch a team desperate for an offensively-capable blue liner.

However, they will also have opportunity this summer as part of a larger roster overhaul.

It’s clear that the Penguins need to massively re-work their defensive group on the road back to contention. Whether it’s by acquiring roster players or future assets to help further the foundation, Girard’s spot in Pittsburgh next season is far from guaranteed.

Further down the organization, the team does have blooming prospects who the Penguins will hope can fight for full-time spots next year. Owen Pickering, a first-round pick from 2022, appeared in four games early in the season but spent the majority of the time in the American Hockey League.

The same can be said for Harrison Brunicke, a second-rounder from two years ago who got a nine-game trial similar to Ben Kindel, but ultimately split the year between juniors and the AHL.

Jake Livanavage, the University of North Dakota product who signed as a collegiate free agent and made his NHL debut in the season finale, also has an outside shot at a roster spot next season.

That’s before the Penguins target anyone either in free agency or on the trade market, the latter of which Dubas seemed eager to go based on his end-of-year press conference.

Girard’s age also puts him in an odd spot for a team that is trying to partially rebuild on-the-fly. At 28, he’s by no means old, but he’s sort of starting to age out of the range the Penguins are looking to acquire and hold on to.

Take Elmer Söderblom, Egor Chinakhov, and Ilya Solovyov, three guys Dubas acquired through in-season trades. Söderblom is 24, and Chinakhov and Solovyov are both 25. It might not seem like a huge deal, but when trying to build out long-term blueprints for the team, does Girard at 28 fit in?

It’s certainly possible we see him moved.

Next season is the final of a seven-year contract Girard signed back in 2019. His cap hit of $5 million was a high rate at the time he signed it. Back then, the salary cap was only $81.5 million, almost $23 million less than the upper limit set for the 2026-27 season.

In a rising cap world, his contract is easily manageable. But wait, there’s more!

One of the benefits of having over $42.5 million in cap space heading into the offseason is the ability to take on some extra little expenditures. Dubas obviously doesn’t want to burn all of that free money, and based on his comments in his end-of-year press conference, wants to preserve a vast amount of that space heading into the fall.

But if the deal is right, the Penguins can retain half of Girard’s cap hit. Girard at $5 million is certainly manageable, but Girard at $2.5 million is rather enticing. Plus, the Penguins would only be on the hook for one year of retention.

Dubas also seemed to lay the groundwork to go big-game hunting this summer And if the Penguins are successful in that goal, perhaps Girard is part of a larger package.

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs still roaring on, it’s hard to get a ton of traction going on what the offseason will look like. But Girard is someone who the Penguins could move out once the summer gets hot.