The Colorado Avalanche have taken care of one of their restricted free agents, as they announced that they’ve re-signed winger Andre Burakovsky to a two-year contract. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the deal pays $4.4M in 2020-21 and $5.4M in 2021-22 for a $4.9M AAV. General manager Joe Sakic released the following statement:
"Signing Andre was a priority for us this offseason. He has been a great addition to our team and was a big part of our success this season. He’s a very skilled player who brings speed and scoring to our lineup, and we’re excited to have him under contract for two more years."
The Avalanche acquired him from Washington last offseason for second- and third-round picks, and the move turned out to be a great one for both sides. The 25-year-old fit in quite well with his new team and put up career numbers despite the pandemic and multiple injuries. He collected 20 goals and 25 assists in 58 games while playing 15:12 per night, also a new personal best.
Burakovsky was even better in the playoffs, finishing fourth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 10 assists in 15 games despite spending a lot of the postseason on the third line. Quality secondary scoring from the bottom six can be hard to come by, and they got it from him, which resulted in a nice raise from the $3.25M he made last season.
The deal buys out Burakovsky’s final year of RFA eligibility as well as one UFA-eligible year but still has him poised to hit the open market in the prime of his career as a 27-year-old in 2022.
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