Report: Capitals Taking Calls on Burakovsky 

Andre Burakovsky was a first-round pick (No.23 overall) in 2013, but has not lived up to that billing so far. 

As a result, the Washington Capitals are reportedly listening to offers on the 23-year-old winger. “Arizona, Vancouver, Colorado, and Dallas are among the teams that I believe have looked at him,” Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote. 

Burakovsky has been a healthy scratch a few times this season and has just 11 points (5G / 6A) in 42 games. The winger has excellent speed for a player that stands at 6-foot-3, 201 lbs. He combines that with deft hands and goal-scoring ability that potential playoff teams covet. 

After scoring 17 goals with 21 assists in 2016, Burakovsky looked like a future top-6 stud for the Capitals, but has seen his playing time decrease precipitously in each succeeding season. 

There are a few issues with trading Burakovsky, however. The Capitals will likely be looking for immediate help and not future assets as they tune-up to defend their Stanley Cup win in 2019. Furthermore, he has a $3.0M cap-hit and becomes a restricted free-agent this summer. As LeBrun points out, that might be too “rich” for a team to take a gamble on a player still “trying to find his game.” 

The aforementioned Avalanche are a logical landing spot for Burakovsky. They are right in the playoff mix thanks to a dominant top-line but their depth, especially on the wing, needs a lot of improvement. Maybe moving an expiring contract like Colin Wilson and a mid-round draft pick would be enough to acquire Burakovsky. Wilson would slot into the Capitals’ bottom-6 and has been a quality playoff producer in the past. Burakovsky can play on Colorado’s second or third line and brings a little more offensive-upside to their group. 

Editor Note: The above trade is total speculation, no indication if a player like Wilson is actually in-play but it’s a trade that makes sense to me. Feel free to leave you potential Burakovsky trades in the Comment Section below ⬇ *