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Burakovsky acquired from Capitals

June 28, 2019, 4:00 PM ET [9 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Avalanche on Friday acquired left wing Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals for minor-league forward Scott Kosmachuk and second- and third-round picks in the 2020 NHL draft.

The third-round pick was acquired Tuesday from Arizona with defenseman Kevin Connauton for Carl Soderberg.

The 6-feet-3, 201-pound Burakovsky, 24, received a qualifying offer from the Capitals and will be a restricted free agent July 1 if the Avalanche haven’t signed him by then. He is coming off a two-year, $6 million contract.

Burakovsky, who is from Klagenfurt, Austria, had 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 76 games last season with a goal and an assist in seven playoff games.

“We are excited to be adding a big, fast, skilled winger like Andre,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a release. “He already has a lot of NHL experience at a young age and is a Stanley Cup winner who has performed well in the playoffs. At just 24 he is entering the prime years of his career and we feel with an added role he will be a great addition to our team.”

Burakovsky was Washington’s first-round pick (No. 23) in 2013. In parts of five seasons he has 145 points (62 goals, 83 assists) in 328 regular-season games with 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 56 playoff games.

Burakovsky was a member of the Capitals’ Stanley Cup championship team in 2017-18 when he had 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 56 games. He missed the first two rounds of the playoffs with an injury and had six points (two goals, four assists) in 13 playoff games.

Burakovsky had career highs for goals (17) and points (38) in 79 games in 2015-16.

"We like the player," Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told reporters a week ago. “There's been some inconsistencies there, but when he's on his game, he's a good player. We'd like to keep him around, but obviously his name is out there a little bit, so we do talk to some teams about him. But we're not going to move him unless we get something we're comfortable with back."

Kosmachuk, 25, had 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 54 games with the AHL Colorado Eagles last season. He has three assists in eight NHL games, all with Winnipeg in 2015-16.



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