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Alexander Burmistrov

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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Prospect Notes: Boeser, Puljujarvi

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Offensive improvement is a major need in Vancouver. With the decline of Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin, the Vancouver Canucks offense struggled last year as the team finished 29th out of 30 teams in goals scored (2.17). Add in the fact that they also finished dead last in shots attempted, the team has some work to do.

Their top young players, 22-year-old Bo Horvat and 24-year-old Sven Baertschi have talent and while the team suffered through numerous injuries a year ago, there is a lot of hope for youngster Brock Boeser, according to NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley. The Canucks 2015 first-round pick (23rd overall) played two seasons for the University of North Dakota and after his team lost in the NCAA championships to Boston University, he signed an entry-level contract and joined the Canucks for the final nine games of the season. The 20-year-old thrived, scoring four goals in that span for five points.

Boeser, known for his great passing and offensive skills, played well with Horvat and Baertschi on the second line at the end of the year and also had a good showing on the power play with the Sedin twins. However, according to Woodley, the team will not just give him a roster spot for this coming season. Boeser must earn it and to prove that, Vancouver still made him attend his third-straight development camp. He must also compete with new free agent acquisitions Sam Gagner and Alexander Burmistrov if he wants playing time.

  • The Edmonton Oilers also have high hopes for their top pick a year ago. Jesse Puljujarvi, the fourth-overall pick in 2016, broke camp last year with the team, but struggled with the speed of the game as well as the language barrier and eventually found himself scratched in 10 out of 18 games. He was sent down to the AHL where he played 39 games for the Bakersfield Condors. He scored 12 goals and added 16 assists for 28 points there. The hope is that Puljijarvi can take the next step and make the rotation this year, according to NHL.com’s Tim Campbell. His combination of size (6-foot-4) and speed would be welcome with Edmonton’s young team.

 

Free Agent Notes: Cullen, Burmistrov, Doan, Witkowski, Mazanec

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While the Wild aren’t expected to be too active in free agency, they have expressed an interest in signing center Matt Cullen, reports Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune.  The 40 year old is from the area and has played there before, suiting up for Minnesota from 2010-11 through 2012-13.

However, Cullen has yet to make a decision on his playing future, although Russo notes that he is intrigued by the idea of going back to Minnesota.  That said, the thought is that he has been leaning towards retiring as a Stanley Cup champion.

If he does decide to play another season, Cullen should still be able to provide a team with quality bottom six production.  He picked up 13 goals and 18 assists in 72 games with the Penguins this past season while surpassing the 50% mark at the faceoff dot for the seventh straight season.

Other news and notes from the free agent market which officially gets going on Saturday:

  • The Canucks are showing interest in center Alexander Burmistrov, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). The 25 year old is on the open market after Arizona failed to tender him a qualifying offer earlier this week.  Burmistrov started this past season with Winnipeg but struggled mightily, recording just two assists in 23 games before the Jets placed him on waivers.  The Coyotes picked him up and he fared quite a bit better, scoring five goals while adding nine assists in 23 games while seeing his ice time jump to over 15 minutes per night.  He could represent a buy low candidate that’s capable of playing a third line offensive role in the right situation.
  • Four teams have expressed an interest in signing unrestricted free agent winger Shane Doan, notes Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports (Twitter link). His agent, Terry Bross, said that a decision won’t come quickly.  The 40 year old has spent the entirety of his 21 year NHL career with the Coyotes (and original Winnipeg Jets) organization but the team announced earlier this month that they would not be offering him a new contract.  Doan is coming off his lowest full-season output since 1998-99 after collecting just six goals along with 21 helpers in 74 games.
  • The Red Wings are interested in blueliner Luke Witkowski, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. The 27 year old split the season between Tampa Bay and their AHL affiliate in Syracuse.  In 39 NHL games, he had four assists and 39 penalty minutes while logging 9:52 per night.  He added five assists and 59 PIMS in 19 minor league contests.  Detroit is believed to be looking for some grit on their back end and head coach Jeff Blashill is familiar with the Michigan native who coached Witkowski back at Western Michigan in 2010-11.
  • Although he received a qualifying offer on Monday, goaltender Marek Mazanec will not return to the Predators next season, GM David Poile told reporters, including Adam Vingan of the Tennessean (Twitter link). The netminder spent most of the season at the minor league level despite beginning the season as the backup to Pekka Rinne.  In 47 games with AHL Milwaukee, he had a 27-17-1 record with a 2.67 GAA and a .912 SV%.  However, he struggled in his four games with the Preds, posting a 4.72 GAA with a .839 SV%.

Arizona Coyotes Not Expected To Retain Alexander Burmistrov

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In a surprising turn after today’s Arizona dealings, Craig Morgan of AZ Sports reports from a scrum with GM John Chayka to not expect the Coyotes to retain Alexander Burmistrov. The young center is a restricted free agent, so presumably Morgan means that the team will not extend him a qualifying offer. The Coyotes have acquired both Derek Stepan and Nick Cousins to fill out their center position, though Burmistrov did show off his potential down the stretch last season.

After being selected off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets, Burmistrov scored 14 points in 26 games for the Coyotes and seemed to fit in as well as one could expect. He would unfortunately miss almost a month after a hit from the Bruins’ Colin Miller caused him to have to leave the ice on a stretcher. The eighth-overall pick of the 2010 draft has been a disappointment thus far in his NHL career, reaching a high of 28 points in 2011-12.

Though he played center for much of his time in Arizona, Winnipeg had nearly given up on him at that position. With a career faceoff winning percentage of 42.3%, and a still unrefined defensive game Burmistrov is a risky fit in the middle of the ice. That’s not to say he couldn’t improve, but as he turns 26 this fall it seems unlikely. He still possesses an ability to make highlight reel passes, and shows flashes of game-altering skill, but has never been able to do it on a consistent basis even in a single game. With a clear mandate from ownership to compete this season, the Coyotes can no longer waste time trying to develop failed prospects.

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