The Washington Capitals announced Friday they have traded the rights to pending restricted free agent Andre Burakovsky to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Capitals are receiving a 2020 second-round draft pick, a 2020 third-round draft pick (via Arizona), and pending unrestricted free agent forward Scott Kosmachuk from the Avalanche.
Burakovsky, 23, spent five seasons with the Capitals at the NHL level after being a first-round pick of the team in 2013.
He posted strong promising numbers in 2015-16 and 2016-17 with 38 points and 35 points, respectively.
He signed a two-year deal worth $6 million in the summer of 2017 with expectations of him taking his game to another level. Unfortunately early season thumb surgery hampered him, and his was reduced to 56 games and 25 points in 2017-18.
Burakovsky was limited to 13 of 24 the Capitals’ games in the 2018 postseason in route to a Stanley Cup title. He, however, did score two pivotal goals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Last season, Burakovsky’s numbers continued to decline, as he finished with 25 points in 76 games, the same point tally he had a season before in 20 less games. He fell out of favor with first-year head coach Todd Reirden, leading to questions concerning his future in Washington as he approached free agency.
Now in Colorado, Burakovsky will get a fresh start for a young Avalanche team reached the second-round of the NHL Playoff last season before losing to San Jose in seven games.
For the Capitals, who are limited in cap space, free themselves from a possible hefty new deal with Burakovsky. Now, they can focus on re-signing the more favorable forward Jakub Vrana and defenseman Christian Djoos with roughly $9.2 million of cap space (according to CapFriendly).
