Oilers acquire defenceman Dmitry Kulikov

Dmitry Kulikov Bio After arriving from Russia to play for Drummondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2008-09, Kulikov made an instant impact. He led all defensemen with 62 points in 57 games and was named the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Best Professional Prospect and Defenseman of the Year. The Florida Panthers were impressed enough to select Kulikov in the first round (No. 14) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut at the age of 18 on Oct. 2, 2009, against the Chicago Blackhawks in Helsinki. Kulikov got his first NHL point Oct. 10, 2009, against the New Jersey Devils, beginning a three-game assist streak. Kulikov scored his first NHL goal Nov. 7, 2009, against the Washington Capitals and had his first two-goal game in the League on Nov. 27, 2009, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kulikov had his first multi-assist game in the NHL on Jan. 19, 2011, against the Columbus Blue Jackets and got a point in four consecutive games from March 12-19, 2011. He had 24 points in 2011-12 despite missing 23 games due to a knee injury. Kulikov had a five-game assist streak from Oct. 31- Nov. 10, 2011, and made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut that season, getting his first postseason point in the NHL with an assist April 24, 2012, against the New Jersey Devils. In 2014-15 Kulikov got his 100th NHL point with an assist Oct. 17, 2014, against the Buffalo Sabres. He scored the first Stanley Cup Playoff goal of his career April 15, 2016, against the New York Islanders. Kulikov got a point in each of the first three games of that first-round series. On June 25, 2016, the Sabres acquired Kulikov and a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft from the Panthers for Mark Pysyk and a second- and third-round pick in 2016. He became an unrestricted free agent after the 2016-17 season and signed with the Winnipeg Jets on July 1, 2017. Kulikov has represented Russia in international play, including first-place (2007) and second-place (2008) finishes with Russia at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship and a third-place finish at the IIHF 2009 World Junior Championship. NOTES & TRANSACTIONS QMJHL All-Rookie Team (2009) QMJHL First All-Star Team (2009) QMJHL Rookie of the Year (2009) Canadian Major Junior Second All-Star Team (2009) Canadian Major Junior All-Rookie Team (2009) Signed as a free agent by Yaroslavl (KHL), September 25, 2012. Traded to Buffalo by Florida with Vancouver's 2nd round pick (previously acquired, Buffalo selected Rasmus Asplund) in 2016 NHL Draft for Mark Pysyk, Buffalo's 2nd round pick (Adam Mascherin) in 2016 NHL Draft and St. Louis' 3rd round pick (previously acquired, Florida selected Linus Nassen) in 2016 NHL Draft, June 25, 2016. Signed as a free agent by Winnipeg, July 1, 2017. Signed as a free agent by New Jersey, October 22, 2020.