Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky to miss start of playoffs with lower-body injury

The Seattle Kraken will go without forward Andre Burakovsky to start the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs as he continues to recover from a “recurring lower-body injury,” the club announced Thursday evening.

Burakovsky, 28, has been out of the Kraken lineup since Feb. 7 and only appeared in 49 of 82 games during the 2022–23 regular season.

Per the Kraken release, Burakovsky recently underwent a surgical procedure to address his injury. The Austrian-born Swede recorded 13 goals and 39 points in 49 games with the Kraken in 2022–23.

Burakovsky is in the first season of the five-year, $5.5 million contract he signed to join the Kraken as an unrestricted free agent last July.

The six-foot-three winger, who shoots left, previously won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018 and the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. He has 20 goals and 47 points in 93 career playoff games.

The Capitals originally selected Burakovsky in the first round (No. 23 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft. He spent the first five seasons of his NHL career with the Capitals before being traded to the Avalanche in 2019.

Burakovsky blossomed into a top-six forward during his tenure in Colorado, recording 61 goals and 150 points in 191 games over three seasons. He missed time with injuries during the Avs’ 2022 Cup run but still collected eight points in 12 playoff contests.

Through 568 career games over parts of nine NHL seasons with Washington, Colorado, and Seattle, Burakovsky has amassed 136 goals and 334 points. He ranks 10th in scoring among members of the 2013 NHL Draft class.

The Kraken are set to make their first-ever postseason appearance after finishing fourth in the Pacific Division with 100 points during the 2022–23 regular season. They’ll take on either the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.