It has been a rough start to Seattle’s season offensively as the Kraken have just 11 goals in six games. Things are about to get even tougher on that front as Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times reports that winger Andre Burakovsky will miss the next six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury.
The injury occurred in last night’s loss to the Rangers as he exited after a hit from Jacob Trouba, playing just 6:05. The 28-year-old had 39 points in 49 games last season, finishing second on the Kraken in points per game behind only Jared McCann but was unable to suit up in the playoffs due to the torn groin that kept him out for the stretch run.
Like many Seattle players, Burakovsky had gotten off to a slow start this year with just two helpers in his first six contests. Nevertheless, losing a top-six forward is never ideal for a team, especially one that has struggled so much out of the gate from a production standpoint.
GM Ron Francis indicated that a recall is likely to come at some point to take Burakovsky’s spot on the roster but not necessarily right away. For now, at least, Devin Shore should come into the lineup. Seattle is about to begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday and since they have 19 healthy skaters for now (with one extra defenseman), a call-up from AHL Coachella Valley isn’t necessarily needed right away. Francis acknowledged they might take a wait-and-see approach on that front to see when a replacement for Burakovsky on the roster will be needed.
Seattle has just one victory so far this season and now, the task of getting back on track just got a little harder now that they’ll be without one of their better wingers in Burakovsky until some point in December.
Solid player but got way overpaid for playing on the loaded Avs teams
This guy either has really bad luck or is kind of brittle.
Probably a bit of both. Regardless of how you feel about his pay, he’s a huge part of what the Kraken do. They’re already down Tanev and now they’ll have to shuffle even further.