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Alexander Burmistrov

Alexander Burmistrov Re-Signs In KHL

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Though it may seem like a decade since Alexander Burmistrov last appeared in the NHL, the 2010 first-round pick is actually less than six years removed from his final game with the Vancouver Canucks, an overtime loss in which he received just nine shifts.

The very last first-round pick the Atlanta Thrashers ever made is still only 31, and has signed another one-year contract in the KHL—inking a deal with Spartak Moscow. It comes after a very poor 2022-23, where Burmistrov scored just five points in 42 games split between Ak Bars Kazan and Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

There was real talent in young Russian when Atlanta picked him in 2010. He had just finished a season with the Barrie Colts, scoring 65 points in 62 games during his first taste of North America. He would immediately jump to the NHL, playing 74 games as a teenaged rookie, scoring six goals and 20 points.

The Thrashers would move to Winnipeg, and Burmistrov looked like a true building block for a while. His 13 goals and 28 points in the 2011-12 season, when he was still just 19, were encouraging signs. The forward core also had young Blake Wheeler, Evander Kane, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, and Mark Scheifele, suggesting better times were ahead.

Unfortunately, things would quickly go off the rails for Burmistrov, who returned to Russia for two seasons in 2013 and could never get his NHL career back on track following that absence.

While he does have a Gagarin Cup and World Championship gold, it has been a rather disappointing career for Burmistrov, individually. He hasn’t crossed 20 points in any season since returning to Russia in 2017, and is a fringe depth player at this point.

Alexander Burmistrov Re-Signs In KHL

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The Atlanta Thrashers had a very hot-and-cold drafting record during their years in the league. Patrik Stefan, the team’s very first pick, is infamous for his status as a bust (though he did play more than 450 games in the league), thanks in part to a missed open net. But the next year the team picked Dany Heatley and his 791 career points. It would continue to bounce back and forth between success and failure at the top of the draft alternating between Bryan Little and Boris Valabik.

The very last first-round pick they made, in 2010, fell closer to the failure side, at least in terms of NHL production. Alexander Burmistrov, selected eighth overall, would end up scoring just 101 NHL points before returning to the KHL in 2018. He has continued to play there ever since, and today switched teams, terminating his deal with Ak Bars Kazan to join Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

It’s been a disappointing season for Burmistrov, with just three points in 26 games for Ak Bars. The 31-year-old hasn’t been much of an offensive producer in recent years, but did win the Gagarin Cup in 2018. Regardless of how well he plays overseas, Thrashers (and Winnipeg Jets) fans will remember the frustrating talent that couldn’t put it all together a decade ago.

A return to North American hockey seems completely off the table at this point, as even Burmistrov’s KHL career appears to be winding down.

Alexander Burmistrov Re-Signs In KHL

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The number of players that spent time with the Atlanta Thrashers organization continues to decline, as Ron Hainsey joined the NHLPA last month, ending his playing career. That number could have potentially increased by one in free agency, but Alexander Burmistrov has decided to re-sign with Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL for the next two years.

Burmistrov, 29, was the last first-round pick the Thrashers made, selected eighth overall in 2010. He made the jump directly to the NHL, playing 74 games in Atlanta’s last season before making the move to Winnipeg. Unfortunately, his time with the organization didn’t go as smoothly as they hoped, and he was back in the KHL by 2013. After coming back for parts of three seasons, he returned to Russia again in 2017.

For Kazan this season, Burmistrov scored six goals and 17 points in 44 games. He was still young enough that a return to North America could have been possible (under certain conditions), but when Burmistrov left in 2017 he was clear that he just “wanted to go home.” He retired from the league then, and there doesn’t seem to be any desire to return to the NHL.

Alexey Marchenko, Others Re-Sign In KHL

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Just a few months ago it appeared as though Alexey Marchenko was considering a return to the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens were suggested as a landing spot, given his familiarity with top prospect Alexander Romanov, who is expected to make the leap to the NHL next season.

Marchenko won’t be coming to Montreal or anywhere else in North America however, as he has signed a new two-year contract with Lokomotiv in the KHL.

The 28-year old defenseman played in 121 NHL contests, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, before returning to the KHL in 2017. Though he never found much success in North America, he has been a key contributor in Russia, taking home an All-Star nod and Gagarin Cup championship in 2019 with CSKA Moscow. He also won Olympic gold with Russia in 2018.

Marchenko isn’t the only familiar name hitting the transaction page in the KHL today. Stephane Da Costa and Alexander Burmistrov have new one-year deals with Ak Bars, Andrei Kostitsyn has a new one-year deal with Neftekhimik and, interestingly, Victor Antipin saw his deal with Mettalurg terminated.

Antipin played in 47 games for the Buffalo Sabres in 2017-18 before returning to Russia. It is not clear where his next step lies.

Russia Announces Several Players For IIHF World Championship

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The Russian National Team has announced several players who will begin preparation next week for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, and there are interesting notes to be gleaned from the list. The group is not exhaustive, meaning that several other players will join the team after being eliminated from their respective KHL or NHL playoffs, while not every player listed may end up suiting up at the tournament in May. The announced names:

Goaltender:

Alexandar Georgiev, New York Rangers

Defensemen:

Artem Zub, SKA St. Petersburg
Dinar Khafizullin, SKA St. Petersburg
Vladislav Gavrikov, SKA St. Petersburg
Artem Sergeev, Salavat Yulaev
Ilya Lyubushkin, Lokomotiv
Egor Yakovlev, New Jersey Devils
Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia Flyers

Forwards:

Ilya Kovalchuk, Los Angeles Kings
Vladislav Namestnikov, New York Rangers
Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks
Evgenii Dadonov, Florida Panthers
Alexander Burmistrov, Salavat Yulaev
Vladimir Tkachyov, Salavat Yulaev
Nikita Gusev, SKA St. Petersburg
Sergei Plotnikov, SKA St. Petersburg
Nail Yakupov, SKA St. Petersburg
Alexander Barabanov, SKA St. Petersburg

First and foremost, the eye will immediately be drawn to Gusev’s name after reports this morning indicated that he may be on his way to the Vegas Golden Knights instead. While Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Gusev’s representation is working to get him out of the last few weeks of his contract with SKA, the Golden Knights themselves have refused to comment on the situation. It’s not clear at this point if he will be allowed to join Vegas for an NHL playoff run, or if Gusev is instead going to join the national team and participate in the upcoming tournament.

Next is Provorov, who is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. Players often avoid going to the tournament if they don’t have a contract for next season due to the injury risk, but perhaps the Flyers have already done work to remedy that situation. In fact, the Russian press release indicates that Provorov will “join the team after he signs a new contract” indicating that they might not be waiting very long. The tournament starts on May 10th, well before Provorov would actually become an RFA.

Dadonov and Anisimov will also not be joining the Russian team right away. The former is dealing with a minor injury and will have to be cleared by the Panthers before reporting, while the latter is said to be joining the group on April 26th.

Overseas Notes: Burmistrov, Svedberg, Austin

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Former Atlanta Thrashers top prospect Alexander Burmistrov really tried to make things work in the NHL. He committed to developing in North America with the OHL’s Barrie Colts, put up decent numbers as a young pro with the Thrashers/Jets, and even after a brief stint in the KHL, returned again and worked hard to find a fit in stops with Winnipeg, the Arizona Coyotes, and the Vancouver Canucks over the past two seasons. Burmistrov’s effort was there, but things just didn’t pan out and he returned to the KHL last season. Unlike in the NHL, teams in Russia are excited to have Burmistrov and willing to give him the benefit of the doubt even when his production doesn’t match the hype. Case in point: after returning to Ak Bars Kazan last year, Burmistrov registered six points in ten games, just three points in 17 playoff games, and has just five points in 27 games this year. Yet, Salavat Yulaev Ufa announced yesterday that they had acquired Burmistrov from Ak Bars for a trio of promising young players. The centerpiece is 24-year-old center Vyacheslav Osnovin who, at five points through 32 games, isn’t far off Burmistrov’s scoring pace. 19-year-old defenseman Alexander Lyakhov has been held scoreless in ten KHL games this season, but has the size and skating to make an impact down the road. Saveli Kuvardin, 17, is the final piece; a draft-eligible forward without any KHL experience, but with strong numbers in Russia’s junior ranks. A similar trade of this magnitude would never have been made to acquire Burmistrov in the NHL, but those are the perks of playing in your home country as an established pro. Now Burmistrov can get a fresh start in Ufa and hopefully make the deal worthwhile for his new team.

  • Viktor Svedberg was once considered to be a future fixture on the Chicago Blackhawks blue line, but after spending the past two seasons exclusively with the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs, he returned to his native Sweden this off-season. That stay didn’t last long, as Svedberg has left the SHL’s Linkoping HC after just seven games to sign with the KHL’s Barys Astana, the league’s entry in Kazakhstan, per a team release. Svedberg is far from a flashy player, but even as a 22-year-old rookie back when he first signed with Chicago in 2013, was a solid stay-at-home defender in the AHL. A reliable presence on the back end, Svedberg should help out Barys, a top ten team in the KHL, in their pursuit of a title.
  • Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Brady Austin was unable to turn his PTO with the AHL’s Stockton Heat into a contract this year, despite accomplishing the same goal on a tryout with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters before last season. Without an opportunity in North America, Austin has signed on with the Esbjerg Energy of the Metal Ligaen in Denmark, the team announced. A low-level pro league, the Metal Ligaen has attracted very few NHL veterans. Yet, Esbjerg has managed to sign Austin and Brett Bellemore in the past week, boasting a blue line with two experienced North American pros. This would seemingly vault the Energy to one of the favorites to win the league championship this year.

Alexander Burmistrov Retires From NHL, Signs In Russia

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Wednesday: Burmistrov has signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL, where he will continue his playing career.

Sunday: NHL player agent Dan Milstein announced that Vancouver Canucks center Alexander Burmistrov has announced his retirement. Burmistrov had recently talked about his frustration with his role with the Canucks. He was a healthy scratch last night against the Blues and only had 4:53 minutes of ice time Thursday against San Jose.

“The frustrating thing is you know you can play at this level and every day and every night you walk into the dressing room and you don’t know if you’re playing or not. You kind of want to know you’re playing or be sure to be confident in yourself and feel like you’re part of the team,” Burmistrov said. “Then you walk into the dressing room and you’re not playing and you’re thinking: ‘What is it going to be like tomorrow?’ I’m trying to work hard but this is hard.”

Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Burmistrov wanted to return back home. Milstein told Dhaliwal, “He wanted to go back home. No other reason. The Canucks were more than accommodating to his request.”

The 26-year-old signed a one-year deal with Vancouver in July after splitting  last year between the Winnipeg Jets and the Arizona Coyotes. He had spent five years with the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers organization after being the eighth-overall pick in 2010, but was waived in January by Winnipeg and Arizona claimed him. Burmistrov never lived up to the billing as his best year in the league was back in 2011-12 when he scored 13 goals and 15 assists in 76 games in the Winnipeg Jets’ first year after moving from Atlanta.

He played a total of 348 games, scoring 37 goals and 101 points. He had two goals and four assists in 24 games this season.

Alexander Burmistrov Frustrated With Role In Vancouver

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It has been a rather rocky NHL journey for Canucks forward Alexander Burmistrov.  After being a first-round pick back in 2010 by Atlanta, expectations were high.  However, despite making the NHL while still having junior eligibility, things haven’t gone particularly well.  He has bounced around as of late and is in his third organization in less than a year after signing with Vancouver in the summer.  Playing time has been inconsistent and the 26-year-old opened up to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province about his frustration and confusion over his role:

“The frustrating thing is you know you can play at this level and every day and every night you walk into the dressing room and you don’t know if you’re playing or not. You kind of want to know you’re playing or be sure to be confident in yourself and feel like you’re part of the team. “Then you walk into the dressing room and you’re not playing and you’re thinking: ‘What is it going to be like tomorrow?’ I’m trying to work hard but this is hard.”

Through 18 games this season, Burmistrov has a goal and four assists but is averaging a career-low 11:51 per night of ice time.  While it was looking like he’d be a candidate to move up in the lineup with Bo Horvat out for the next six weeks, even that appears to be in question now following their recent acquisition of Nic Dowd; it’s unlikely that they parted with an intriguing prospect in Jordan Subban to get someone that they plan to keep as a reserve forward.  Center Brandon Sutter is also expected to return next week from an upper-body injury which could push Burmistrov down the depth chart even further.

Burmistrov is making $900K this season and is eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration rights next summer.  However, given his small role and inconsistent performance, there likely isn’t much of a trade market for him despite the affordable cap hit.  As a result, unless Vancouver decides to waive him down the road, Burmistrov’s situation and role won’t be changing for the better in the near future.

Injury Notes: Bruins, Rakell, Weber, Wennberg, Sutter

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The Boston Bruins injury list keeps growing as the team is dealing with injuries to Brad Marchand, Anders Bjork, Ryan Spooner and Peter Cehlarik. However, the one good piece of news is that forward David Backes, who underwent surgery to have a piece of his colon removed on Nov. 1, has already been cleared for contact in practice, according to NBC Sports Joe Haggerty.

Originally estimated to be out for eight weeks, putting the timetable to early January, Backes has already been skating with the Bruins for a week and could be returning sooner than expected.

The other news isn’t as good, according to Haggerty, who says that Marchand will miss today’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and was still sporting a non-contact sweater in practice Saturday. Bjork is expected to miss another week with an upper-body injury, while neither Spooner or Cehalrik practiced Saturday. The scribe says only Spooner has a chance to play today.

  • Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register tweets that Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell, who didn’t play in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings due to an upper-body injury, won’t travel with the team starts their road trip. Stephens adds that coach Randy Carlyle was vague about when Rakell would return to the team.
  • Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber, who has missed the past three games lower-body injury, missed practice today, according to the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. Instead, the veteran defenseman opted for therapy. He remains day-to-day as Montreal hosts Columbus on Monday.
  • Cowan also reports that defenseman David Schlemko, who is on a condidtioning stint with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, was practicing with the Canadiens today, suggesting a return could be near.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg, who has been out with an upper-body injury since Nov. 11, participated in practice fully today and is expected to travel with the team for Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.
  • Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter, who is expected to miss today’s game against the New York Rangers, is more than just “day-to-day,” according to Canucks head coach Travis Green. The coach adds that it’s nothing too serious, but in his place Alexander Burmistrov will fill in for him while he is out.
  • Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika reports that defenseman Stephen Johns, who was suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames, skated today and is expected to be ready for Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $73,012,499 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Brock Boeser (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Jake Virtanen (One year remaining, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Boeser: $850K
Virtanen: $850K

Boeser is one of the Canucks hope for the future. The team’s 2015 first-round pick has been playing exceptionally well in camp and looks ready to take a major role on the team. After two years at the University of North Dakota, Boeser managed to play in nine games for Vancouver last year, putting up four goals and an assist in that span and averaged 2.78 shots per game as well. Virtanen, on the other hand is just trying to cement a starting role on the team. The sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Virtanen has been disappointing and has had trouble finding a role with the club, playing 55 games two years ago and then settling for just 10 games last year. A solid camp so far suggests, he might have turned it around as he looks to take his game to the next level.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Daniel Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
F Henrik Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
D Erik Gudbranson ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Thomas Vanek ($2MM, UFA)
F Sven Baertschi ($1.85MM, RFA)
D Troy Stecher ($925K, RFA)
F Markus Granlund ($900K, RFA)
F Alexander Burmistrov ($900K, RFA)
F Anton Rodin ($700K, UFA)
F Reid Boucher ($688K, RFA)
D Patrick Wiercioch ($625K, UFA)

On a positive note, there are many contracts that are set to expire next year, which could give the Canucks quite a bit of cap space. What the team will do with the Sedin brothers, long-time franchise players, is still up in the air. Rumors that they have no interest in going to a contender to finish out their careers suggest that they may choose to retire or sign up for a much shorter, much cheaper deal with Vancouver. While both have been leading the franchise, their numbers have begun to decline now that they are 36 years old with Daniel Sedin putting up just 15 goals and 44 points a year ago, while brother Henrik also just putting up 15 goals and 51 points.

There are very few potential unrestricted free agents that are critical to the team’s building of the future. While Gudbranson is just 25 years old, the team has shown a willingness to move on from the defenseman and has been talked about in trade rumors all offseason. The former third-overall pick in 2010 didn’t fare well in his first year in Vancouver, suffering a wrist injury and playing in only 30 games. The team may want to move on before they lose him. Vanek, signed late in the offseason, is also likely a trade chip at the trade deadline.

As for restricted free agents, the team still has high hopes that Baertschi will continue to improve. After struggling to break into the Calgary Flames starting unit, Vancouver picked him up and got 15 goals in 2015-16 and another 18 last year. The 24-year-old could easily wind up on the team’s second line and have a big year. Granlund, 24, is another youngster who stepped up a year ago, putting up 19 goals as a full-time starter. Stecher will also be a free agent. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent had a solid rookie season after coming to the Canucks from the University of North Dakota. He is penciled in as a first-line defender. The team also has high hopes they can turn around Burmistrov’s career. The former top-10 pick in 2010 was signed away from Arizona with the hopes he can fill a need in the bottom six.

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