Andre Burakovsky’s future with the Capitals has been in question for several months now and other teams are certainly taking notice. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that teams are starting to call regarding Washington’s plans for the winger. He notes that the Avalanche, Canucks, Coyotes, and Stars are among the teams that are believed to have shown some interest already but that there are likely others as well.
Burakovsky put up at least 35 points in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons and at that time, he looked like he’d be an important piece of Washington’s future. He was signed to a two-year, $6MM contract, a reasonable bridge deal at the time.
However, things have not gone too well for him or the team since then. After dipping to 25 points last season, he has just five goals and six assists through 42 games so far this season while spending considerable time as a healthy scratch as well. All of a sudden, he has gone from a part of their secondary core to someone that may be on the outside looking in soon; Burakovsky is owed a qualifying offer of $3.25MM this summer, something that doesn’t appear to be likely to happen at this point.
Earlier this month, GM Brian MacLellan indicated that he was open to moving a forward for a forward on a similar contract. While he didn’t come out and say Burakovsky by name, it’s reasonable to infer he’s one of the players MacLellan was thinking of when he said that.
With that in mind, teams appear to be looking to see if they can buy low on the 23-year-old. Given what he has shown in the past, Burakovsky could be someone that simply needs a change of scenery to get back on track. With that qualifying offer looming, MacLellan doesn’t have a lot of leverage to work with either.
While the team may want to acquire a comparable forward as part of the return, opening up their options to accepting a futures-based return may give them some more suitors. Yes, Washington is going to be a buyer between now and the trade deadline but they could just as easily turn around and deal the futures-based return elsewhere to get the player they desire. No matter how it happens, it certainly appears as if Burakovsky’s days with the Capitals are soon coming to an end.