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Andre Burakovsky signs one-year contract with Colorado Avalanche

By Ian Oland

 4 Comments

July 15, 2019 1:01 pm

Oh man. Now it’s really real.

The Colorado Avalanche have announced that they’ve signed restricted free agent and former Capital Andre Burakovsky to a one-year deal.

“We are excited to be adding a big, fast, skilled winger like Andre,” general manager Joe Sakic said after the team acquired Burakovsky. “He already has a lot of NHL experience at a young age and is a Stanley Cup winner who has performed well in the playoffs. At just 24 he is entering the prime years of his career and we feel with an added role, he will be a great addition to our team.”

According to The Athletic’s Ryan Clark, Burakovsky will make $3.25 million next season, which is the same salary he made last year in Washington on a two-year escalating bridge deal that had a cap hit of $3 million.

The one-year pact will allow Burakovsky a chance for a bigger salary after a down year and a full season in the top six of an up-and-coming Colorado Avalanche team, full of young stars.

The Capitals dealt Burakovsky on June 28 to accommodate the Swedish winger’s trade request and also get badly needed room under the salary cap.

Burakovsky spent five seasons in Washington, but after scoring a career-high in goals (17) and points (38) in 2015-16, the former first round pick could never eclipse those numbers in the seasons following. He also struggled after suffering several hand and arm injuries further derailing his development.

Here’s the full release from the Avalanche:

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed forward Andre Burakovsky to a one-year contract for the upcoming 2019-20 season. Colorado acquired the 24-year-old winger in a trade with the Washington Capitals on June 28.

Burakovsky appeared in 76 games for the Capitals this past season, tallying 25 points (12g/13a). He helped Washington capture its first Stanley Cup championship in 2017-18, returning to the lineup after missing the first two rounds and recording six points (2g/4a) in 13 postseason games.

Selected by the Capitals in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Burakovsky has tallied 145 points (62g/83a) in 328 career regular-season NHL games for Washington. He has also dressed in 56 career playoff games, totaling 18 points (9g/9a). The 6-foot-3, 201-pound left wing recorded NHL career highs in goals (17) and points (38) during the 2015-16 season and notched a career-high 23 assists during the 2016-17 campaign.

Burakovsky played his first professional season in North America in 2014-15, splitting the year between the Capitals and Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He has seven points (3g/4a) in 13 career AHL regular-season games.

A Klagenfurt, Austria, native, Burakovsky played one season for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters in 2013-14 and finished the year ranked fourth on the team with 87 points, while his 41 goals and 46 assists each ranked third. He paced the Otters with 10 goals during the playoffs and finished the 2014 postseason with 13 points (10g/3a) in 14 outings.

Burakovsky spent three seasons with the Malmo Redhawks organization in Sweden, totaling 12 points (4g/8a) in 53 games in Allsvenskan, the second-highest professional league in the Swedish ice hockey system. He accumulated 49 points (20g/29a) in 55 contests in SuperElit, Sweden’s top junior league. He represented his country at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship, tallying seven points (3g/4a) to help Sweden capture the silver medal.

Burakovsky was acquired from Washington on June 28 in exchange for forward Scott Kosmachuk, a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a third-round selection (previously acquired from Arizona) in the 2020 NHL Draft.