Dmitry Kulikov (ice hockey)

Dmitry Kulikov
Kulikov with the Florida Panthers in 2010
Born (1990-10-29) 29 October 1990 (age 34)
Lipetsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Florida Panthers
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Buffalo Sabres
Winnipeg Jets
New Jersey Devils
Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Anaheim Ducks
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team  Russia
NHL draft 14th overall, 2009
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2009–present

Dmitry Vladimirovich Kulikov (Russian: Дми́трий Влади́мирович Кулико́в; born 29 October 1990) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Panthers in the first round, 14th overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He has previously played for the Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kulikov won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2024.

Playing career

Junior

Kulikov began his career in his homeland Russia with Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl in the Pervaya Liga, and left his club in November 2008 to sign for the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in North America.[1] In his lone season with Drummondville, Kulikov led all QMJHL defencemen with 62 points in 57 games, and took home a slew of post-season awards, including the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the QMJHL Defenceman of the Year, the Raymond Lagacé Trophy as the Defensive Rookie of the Year and the Mike Bossy Trophy as the League's top professional prospect.

Professional

After his rookie year with the Voltigeurs, Kulikov was drafted by the Florida Panthers 14th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, and was later signed to a professional contract with the club on 29 September 2009.[2]

Despite his age, Kulikov managed to play in 68 games with Florida in his rookie season, 2009–10, displaying high levels of skill and confidence. Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon expressed that the Panthers organization had high expectations of Kulikov for the future.[3]

On 18 July 2014, Kulikov signed a three-year, $13 million contract extension with the Panthers, worth $4.3 million annually.[4]

Kulikov in a game against the St. Louis Blues in 2011.

On 25 June 2016, Kulikov was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, along with the 33rd overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft in exchange for defenceman Mark Pysyk and picks 38 and 89 in the 2016 draft.[5] In the 2016–17 season, Kulikov's time with the Sabres was largely affected through injury. In the last year of his contract, he appeared in 47 games to produce a career low 2 goals and 5 points.

On 1 July 2017, as a free agent from his disappointing tenure with the Sabres, Kulikov was signed to a three-year, $12 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets.[6]

After the completion of his contract with the Jets, Kulikov left as a free agent and on 22 October 2020, he was signed to a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.[7] In the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Kulikov brought a sound defensive game to the Devils, registering 2 assists through 38 regular season games. With the Devils out of playoff contention, Kulikov was dealt at the trade deadline to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a conditional fourth-round selection in 2022 on 12 April 2021.[8]

At the conclusion of his contract with the Oilers, Kulikov left as a free agent and on 28 July 2021, was signed to a two-year, $4.5 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.[9]

After one season with the Wild, Kulikov was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations on 31 August 2022.[10]

On 3 March 2023, the Ducks traded Kulikov to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Brock McGinn and a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.[11]

As a free agent from the Penguins, Kulikov opted to return to his original club after seven seasons away, signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Florida Panthers for the 2023–24 season on 1 July 2023.[12] After winning the Stanley Cup with the Panthers, Kulikov signed a four-year contract to stay with the Panthers.

International play

Medal record
Representing  Russia
Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 Czech Republic
Silver medal – second place 2010 Germany

Kulikov represented Russia in two Under-18 World Cups: 2007 in Finland and 2008 in Russia. He was then a member of Team Russia at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[13]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl RUS.3 32 6 13 19 54 — — — — —
2008–09 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 57 12 50 62 46 19 2 17 19 16
2009–10 Florida Panthers NHL 68 3 13 16 32 — — — — —
2010–11 Florida Panthers NHL 72 6 20 26 45 — — — — —
2011–12 Florida Panthers NHL 58 4 24 28 36 7 0 1 1 4
2012–13 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 22 3 3 6 28 — — — — —
2012–13 Florida Panthers NHL 34 3 7 10 22 — — — — —
2013–14 Florida Panthers NHL 81 8 11 19 66 — — — — —
2014–15 Florida Panthers NHL 73 3 19 22 48 — — — — —
2015–16 Florida Panthers NHL 74 1 16 17 51 6 1 3 4 4
2016–17 Buffalo Sabres NHL 47 2 3 5 26 — — — — —
2017–18 Winnipeg Jets NHL 62 3 8 11 22 1 0 0 0 2
2018–19 Winnipeg Jets NHL 57 0 6 6 47 6 0 0 0 4
2019–20 Winnipeg Jets NHL 51 2 8 10 32 4 0 2 2 4
2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 38 0 2 2 26 — — — — —
2020–21 Edmonton Oilers NHL 10 0 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Minnesota Wild NHL 80 7 17 24 39 2 0 1 1 2
2022–23 Anaheim Ducks NHL 61 3 12 15 30 — — — — —
2022–23 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 6 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2023–24 Florida Panthers NHL 76 1 19 20 63 24 0 2 2 16
NHL totals 948 46 188 234 591 53 1 9 10 36

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Russia U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 4 4 6
2007 Russia IH18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 0 0 0 31
2008 Russia U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 0 2 2 6
2009 Russia WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 0 4 4 4
2010 Russia WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 0 2 2 8
2011 Russia WC 4th 9 2 1 3 4
2015 Russia WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 0 2 2 8
2016 Russia WCH 4th 4 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 24 0 10 10 47
Senior totals 32 2 5 7 20

Awards and honours

Award Year Ref
NHL
Stanley Cup champion 2024

References

  1. ^ "Prospect Dmitry Kulikov Player Profile". Hockey's Future. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Cats sign Kulikov". Florida Panthers. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  3. ^ "Dmitri Kulikov profile". The Hockey News. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Panthers Re-Sign Kulikov to Three-Year, $13M Deal". TSN. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Sabres acquire defenseman Dmitri Kulikov in deal with Panthers". ESPN. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Jets sign Dmitri Kulikov". Winnipeg Jets. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Devils sign Kulikov". New Jersey Devils. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Oilers acquire Kulikov from New Jersey Devils". Edmonton Oilers. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Wild signs defenseman Dmitri Kulikov". Minnesota Wild. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Minnesota Wild Trades Dmitry Kulikov to the Anaheim Ducks". NHL.com. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Penguins Acquire Dmitry Kulikov for Brock McGinn, 2024 Third-Round Pick". NHL.com. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Panthers agree to terms with Dmitry Kulikov on 1-year contract". Florida Panthers. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Russian Hockey NHL Prospects – Dmitry Kulikov Florida Panthers". Russianprospects.com. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Florida Panthers first round draft pick
2009 		Succeeded by