Andre Burakovsky had a strong start to his tenure with the Seattle Kraken this season, putting up 39 points in 47 games before the All-Star break. However, the former Capital’s season came to an abrupt halt on February 7th, when Burakovsky left the ice just seconds into his first shift. It would mark the end of Burakovsky’s first season in Seattle and deprive the Kraken of their leading scorer to that point.

At the Kraken’s end of season media availability on Thursday, general manager Ron Francis revealed Burakovsky had suffered a torn groin in that game. Though the team expected him to return before the end of the regular season, a series of setbacks prolonged his recovery.

Uh oh…Andre Burakovsky goes to the room after this non-contact play. #SEAKraken pic.twitter.com/qo3BcO78rP

— Emerald City Hockey (@EmeraldCityHky) February 8, 2023

“He tore his groin 19 seconds into his first shift coming back off the nine-day All-Star break,” Francis said. “And then he started the rehab plan, he was getting close to coming back, and then had another issue that set him back in the same sort of light. We took another look at things and how we were going to fix it.”

At that point, the Kraken anticipated that Burakovsky would return in early March. “Going into the deadline, we thought he was going to be back seven days after the trade deadline,” Francis said. “That was what we counted on as kind of being our piece.”

That plan wouldn’t pan out. Burakovsky suffered another setback and would go under the knife in mid-April.

“He had [the first] setback and then he was actually tracking really good,” Francis explained, “Had a 45-minute skate and then reached for something and had another setback. So at that point we decided we needed to have a little better look so we did perform surgery. He was going to be out six weeks at that point.”

The prolonged absence was a major loss for Seattle, but the team was largely able to compensate for the loss of Burakovsky. In the franchise’s second season, the Kraken made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They would go on to defeat the reigning Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

“[Burakovsky] went out in February, he was our leading scorer and that’s a big part of our team, so we missed him,” Francis explained. “But also great job by the guys in that locker room: they didn’t use it as an excuse or crutch. They continued to fight and battle and believe in what they had, and found a way to still have some success.”

Before Burakovsky was well enough to return, the Kraken’s season ended with a Game Seven defeat to the Dallas Stars. Francis clarified that Burakovsky wouldn’t have been ready for the Western Conference Final, but likely would have returned if the Kraken made it to the Stanley Cup Final. As it stands, he’ll have to wait until next season.

Burakovsky joined the Kraken this summer, signing a five-year, $5.5M AAV deal in July. He would emerge as the team’s leading scorer before the injury, forming a crucial part of the league’s newest franchise. Even after missing over 30 games, Burakovsky was still a top-10 scorer on the Kraken.

Before signing in Seattle, Burakovsky won the Stanley Cup with the 2022 Colorado Avalanche. He faced significant injury in that run as well: he played through both a broken thumb and a broken ankle, ultimately missing the final four games of the Final. It was Burakovsky’s second Cup; he won his first with the Capitals in 2018.

Francis confirmed that, despite the setbacks, Burakovsky should be ready to go by the fall.

“We hope and expect that he’ll be 100 percent starting training camp next year.

Screenshot: Seattle Kraken/YouTube