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Washington Capitals trade Andre Burakovsky to Colorado Avalanche for draft picks

By Ian Oland

 4 Comments

June 28, 2019 3:05 pm

Andre Burakovsky’s tenure with the Washington Capitals is officially over.

After being linked in trade rumors for much of the 2018-19 season, the Swedish forward has been sent to the Colorado Avalanche for two draft picks and a minor leaguer.

The Athletic’s Ryan Clark was the first to report the news.

Elliotte Friedman added that the draft picks are second and third round selections.

The player the Capitals get in return is pending unrestricted free agent Scott Kosmachuk, a 25-year-old forward who spent last season in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles.

“Andre had a frustrating year, but I think he finished it up well,” Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said before the NHL Draft. “From the trade deadline on and he had a good playoffs. We like the player. There’s been some inconsistencies there, but when he’s on his game he’s a good player. We’d like to keep him around.”

With the NHL salary cap $1.5 million lower than projected ($81.5 million), the Capitals could not find a way to keep Andre on the team.

The Capitals 2013 first-round pick spent five full seasons with the Capitals, scoring a career-high 17 goals and 38 points during the 2015-16 season. Burakovsky won a Stanley Cup with Washington as part of their 2017-18 championship team.

Burakovsky’s value as a forward comes from his neutral-zone transition play and his individual offensive volume. The former has been limited by lowered ice time, and the latter hindered by injury. As Peter said in his season review:

Burakovsky generated a lower rate of shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger chances this season. His average shot distance has grown from under 29 feet in 2017 to nearly 32 feet now.

Burakovsky, a former teen shampoo model, was a roommate of Tom Wilson for several years and one of the most beloved players on the team by fans and teammates alike.

The move gives Washington some flexibility for next week’s free agency period or a trade, where they’ll need to fill out their forward corps. They’ll also have more option in next summer’s draft. In the meantime, with Connolly also unlikely to return, Washington’s bottom-six scoring has all but vanished.

More from the Capitals:

The Washington Capitals have acquired a second and third round pick (previously acquired from the Arizona Coyotes) in the 2020 NHL Draft and pending unrestricted free agent forward Scott Kosmachuk from the Colorado Avalanche for forward Andre Burakovsky, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Burakovsky, 24, registered 25 points (12g, 13a) in 76 games with the Capitals last season. The 6’3″, 201-pound forward has recorded 145 points (62g, 83a) in 328 games with the Capitals. He was drafted by Washington with the Capitals’ first round pick, 23rd overall, in the 2013 NHL Draft.

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