Oilers and Habs have made a trade.

We have a trade between the Oilers and the Canadiens to report.

The first to break the news appears to be National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli, reporting that Montreal Canadiens veteran defenseman Brett Kulak is on his way to the Edmonton Oilers.

There had been some reports that the Oilers would be standing firm at the deadline but it would appear that Ken Holland found an offer that he liked and has pulled the trigger in an effort to bolster his team's defense and help them secure a playoff spot down the stretch here.

Kulak has been one of several defensemen on the Canadiens roster connected to trade rumors, but of those defensemen Kulak has the most manageable cap hit. That no doubt made him an appealing target for the Edmonton Oilers who don't have a great deal of cap space to work with. Kulak is currently in the final year of a 3 year contract that carries an average annual value and salary cap hit of just $1.85 million per season. That deal is however back loaded and this is his highest earning year in terms of actual salary at $2.2 million this season.

Prior to being traded today Kulak had appeared in 56 regular season games for the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 3 goals and adding 10 assists for a combined total of 13 points on the season. He has 33 penalty minutes to his name and currently boasts a plus minus rating of -10 on what was not a very good Canadiens roster this season.

Kulak, who was originally drafted in the 4th round (105th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames and played his first 4 NHL seasons for that organization, will now join a former rival in the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers even have a game against the Flames coming down the stretch, so it seems likely that for the first time he will get to experience the Battle of Alberta from the Oilers side of things.

Update: Sounds like a 2nd round draft pick at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft may be the return, but this has not officially been confirmed yet.