The hope for the Kraken was that winger Andre Burakovsky would have been back a couple of weeks ago. However, GM Ron Francis acknowledged to Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times that the veteran suffered a setback in his recovery that has delayed his return to the lineup. The 28-year-old has missed nearly two months with a lower-body injury and had a strong first half of the season before that, notching 13 goals and 26 assists in 49 games. Burakovsky has started skating with development coaches but isn’t ready to get back into team drills yet. Francis indicated that even if he isn’t able to get back to full practices by the time the playoffs start, they’ll have no hesitance in putting him back in when Burakovsky is eventually cleared to return.
More from the Pacific:
- This season hasn’t been a great one for Ducks winger Max Comtois. Now two years removed from a 33-point campaign, his point total since then is 33 between 2021-22 and 2022-23. Accordingly, Eric Stephens of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that it’s unlikely that the 24-year-old will be tendered his $2.55MM qualifying offer this summer. Not long ago, Comtois was viewed as a possible power forward on the rise but Stephens notes that he was available in a trade this season with a swap obviously failing to materialize.
- Oilers defenseman Ryan Murray has resumed skating, relays TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has been out with a back injury for the last three months and has been limited to just 13 appearances this season where he has three assists while averaging a little over 13 minutes a night. Murray isn’t likely to crack Edmonton’s top six when he’s cleared to return but he’d at least give them some extra veteran depth for the playoffs.