If I made 650k as a hockey player, put my time in the minors, saw myself being waived for the likes of Nik Grossman and Matt Bartkowski, then finally establish myself as a bottom pairing defenceman, I’d ask for a raise as well.
I will say though, the biggest surprise to me was seeing Kulak pass through waivers in the 2018 summer. I was genuinely surprised that Vancouver or Edmonton didn’t take a run at him. Worst case scenario would be you pay Kulak a million or so in his arb case and cut bait the next year.
It might be a minority opinion, but I like seeing these former Flames draft picks do well, even if things didn’t end perfectly in Calgary. Andersson. Valimaki. Fox. Gilmour. Kylington. Kulak. Maybe Hickey. These were all recent Flames D draft picks that will play NHL minutes next year, and in some cases, impactful NHL minutes.
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