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Capitals re-sign Andre Burakovsky to two-year, $6 million bridge deal

By Ian Oland

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July 4, 2017 4:10 pm

This year’s Fourth of July celebration in Washington DC now has a Swedish twist.

At 4 PM, the Washington Capitals announced that they have re-signed talented 22-year-old winger Andre Burakovsky to a two-year, $6 million contract.

Last season, Burakovsky scored 12 goals and tallied 35 points from the third line, despite missing 18 games to injury. His trio with Lars Ellen and Brett Connolly was one of the league’s best bottom-six lines in shot metrics. Burakovsky enjoyed a postseason promotion in the second round, sharing time with Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie in three elimination games against Pittsburgh. The Burracuda scored three goals.

Burakovsky’s deal is considered a bridge contract, similar to the two-year, $6 million contract Evgeny Kuznetsov signed in the summer of 2015. A bridge contract allows a team to secure someone short term to evaluate potential, or to secure a low-AAV contract for cap constraints. The only risk is you’ll be paying much more when that bridge is up.

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The Washington Capitals have re-signed right wing Andre Burakovsky to a two-year, $6 million contract, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Burakovsky, 22, registered 35 points (12g, 23a) in 64 games with the Capitals during the 2016-17 season, recording career highs in assists and plus/minus (+13). In addition, Burakovsky tallied a career-high eight multi-point games last season, including a career-high three-assist performance against Carolina on Jan. 23. The 6’3”, 205-pound right wing recorded a point in six consecutive games from Jan. 13 to Jan. 23 (4g, 6a), tied for the fourth-longest point streak on the team last season. Burakovsky also scored the Capitals first goal of the 2016-17 season 0:59 into the first period on Oct. 13 at Pittsburgh, marking the third-fastest goal to start a season in franchise history.

During the 2015-16 season, Burakovsky recorded 38 points (17g, 21a) in 79 games, setting career highs in goals, points and games played. He earned a point in eight consecutive games from Jan. 17, 2016 to Feb. 9. 2016 (6g, 4a), marking the longest point streak by a Capitals player since Nicklas Backstrom recorded a nine-game point streak during the 2012-13 season (3/30/13-4/13/13: 1g, 14a). In addition, Burakovsky scored a goal in five straight games (1/19-2/6: 6g, 1a) and was one of 11 players in the NHL during the 2015-16 season to score a goal in five or more consecutive games. He also played in his 100th NHL/Capitals game on Feb. 6, 2016 at New Jersey, becoming the eighth player in franchise history to reach 100 games before their 21st birthday (Bob Carpenter, Scott Stevens, Kevin Hatcher, Gaetan Duchesne, Tom Wilson, Mike Marson, Nicklas Backstrom). The Malmo, Sweden, native was selected by the Capitals in the first round, 23rd overall, in the 2013 NHL Draft and has recorded 95 points (38g, 57a) in 196 career NHL games with Washington.