Kulikov living in the moment despite unclear future with Jets

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This article was published 29/02/2020 (2063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — After stops in Florida, Buffalo and now Winnipeg, Dmitry Kulikov isn’t sure where his career might take him next. But the veteran defenceman is enjoying living in the present despite the fact his future hockey home is anything but clear.

Kulikov, 29, is in the final stretch of a three-year, US$13-million free agent deal he signed with the Jets in the summer of 2017. At an average annual salary of US$4.33 million, that makes him the highest paid blue-liner on the roster. And as a pending unrestricted free agent, he’s essentially auditioning for his next contract every time he hits the ice. 

“Ten years in the league, you go through that. It’s just another year. You just play the game,” Kulikov told the Free Press Saturday prior to facing the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place in his 673rd career NHL game. In a nutshell, he believes this sort of thing is only a distraction if you allow it to become one. 

“I don’t think about that. I just go out and play hockey and do what I like. It’s not on my mind at all,” he said. 

Kulikov’s 672nd game may have been one of his best in a Winnipeg sweater. It started early with him snapping a personal 43-game drought by scoring the opening goal against the Washington Capitals. It was timely, too, breaking a nine-game drought in which the Jets had surrendered the first tally to their opponent. 

“It’s nice. Just shooting to get the puck to the net. Fortunately it went in for me. It’s nice to help out the team with some offence,” Kulikov said of his second goal of the season, and first since lighting the lamp way back on Oct. 4 in New Jersey.

There was much more to his game. Kulikov logged 22:12 on a top pairing with Neal Pionk, which played a big role in holding Alex Ovechkin and company off the board in an impressive 3-0 victory. There was also plenty of physical play, including four hits and two shot blocks, and he logged pivotal time on a penalty kill that went a perfect three-for-three. 

All of which had some folks suggesting he was the best Russian on the ice on that particular night.

“You’re playing against one of the best teams in the NHL, and you want to, as a defenceman, shut them down and don’t let them score,” said Kulikov. 

Coach Paul Maurice has been forced to lean heavily on Kulikov recently given the current state of his blue-line. The only other returning regular from last season, Josh Morrissey, is currently injured, as are other depth pieces like Sami Niku, Luca Sbisa and Carl Dahlstrom.

And so Kulikov, a player some thought might be a candidate for a buyout last summer, is suddenly playing a starring role on a team that had already lost Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot before the year began. 

“That’s the story of so many of our defencemen. We’ve had injuries, so guys who don’t get the minutes they would have had over their career get a chance to play more. And they get better,” said Maurice, who planned to use Kulikov and Pionk against Connor McDavid’s line Saturday night. 

Kulikov said he welcomes these types of challenges.

“They’re players who can create something on every shift. You constantly have to be aware of that,” he said, noting the entire year has actually been filled with adversity. That includes suffering an upper-body injury in late November — at a time Maurice said he was playing the best hockey of his career — and not returning until early January.

“It’s been good. Beginning of the season, we were winning a lot of games, surprising some people, surprising teams. But I think overall we’ve played really good as a team. We’ve had some ups and downs, but that’s the NHL season for you,” he said. 

Kulikov said he’s greatly enjoyed his time in Winnipeg and would be open to a potential return, even if there’s no movement on that front at this time.

“I haven’t had any talks going on right now. Like I said, it’s not on my mind at all,” he said. “I just go out and try to play my best hockey every night.”

Kulikov would be free to sign with any other club as of July 1 if a new deal with the Jets isn’t struck. Maurice said it’s a testament to Kulikov that he’s been able to embrace the opportunity that’s come his way lately. 

Maybe two different scenarios: a guy that comes in in his situation now and because of our defence injuries we’ve had, he knows he’s going to get big minutes and knows he’s going to get that opportunity. That’s what they want. The other situation is the guy knows it’s his contract year. Probably his game doesn’t start the way he wants to in the year, and sometimes it can snowball on him a little bit. But Dmitry knows he’s going to get big minutes here all year,” said Maurice.

 

WHAT A PAIN

 

PATRIK Laine and Josh Morrissey both made the trip to Edmonton but were held out of Saturday night’s game. Laine suffered an apparent foot injury after blocking a shot during his first shift against Washington on Thursday. Morrissey is dealing with an undisclosed upper-body ailment and hasn’t played since Feb. 22, missing the past four games and counting. 

“We’ll list them both as day-to-day. And we won’t know until we get further along the road,” Maurice said following the morning skate.

Logan Shaw returned to the lineup against the Oilers in Laine’s place, skating on the fourth line with Nick Shore and Gabriel Bourque. Mason Appleton jumped up to the second line with Cody Eakin and Nikolaj Ehlers. The other two lines of Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler and Jansen Harkins-Andrew Copp-Jack Roslovic remained intact. C.J. Suess, called up from the Manitoba Moose on Friday for insurance, was the lone healthy scratch.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg