In what has become an annual tradition in Denver to lock up previous rentals on long-term contract extensions, defenseman Brett Kulak is the latest Avalanche to keep the practice alive.
A day after moving out outstanding defensive forward and Stanley Cup champion Valeri Nichushkin, the Colorado Avalanche didn’t let their new found salary cap space go to waste and inked Brett Kulak to a five-year deal for $4.5 million per year. He also received a full no-trade clause in the first three years and then
a 15 team modified no-trade for the last two seasons.
But wait, there’s more!
While the wallet was open GM Joe Sakic locked up another one of their blueliners from last season bringing back veteran Brent Burns for another year. The base salary on his contract is $875k but, again, can make significantly more through earning performance bonuses. Reportedly another $2 million is on the table, though details haven’t been released yet, which at least a portion should be easily attainable. In the 2025-26 season Burns received $3 million in bonuses for playing in 10 games, which most of that amount carried over onto the cap this season.
With the Avalanche running back their defense from last season, there’s still more work to do up front as the departures Ross Colton, Jack Drury and Valeri Nichushkin have left significant holes on the roster. After these two new signings, Sakic has $5.6 million in cap space to work with.
