The Seattle Kraken have activated forward Andre Burakovsky from injured reserve, confirming he’ll be ready to go ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, per CapFriendly.
Burakovsky had been on injured reserve for over six months after sustaining a lower-body injury in early February. Multiple setbacks during his recovery ended up sidelining him for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs, which was quite a tough break for the Swedish and Austrian forward. In his first year with the Kraken, Burakovky’s 0.80 points per game finished second on the team behind 40-goal-scorer Jared McCann.
After Seattle’s postseason elimination at the hands of the Dallas Stars in May, general manager Ron Francis confirmed that Burakovsky had sustained a torn groin during his first shift after coming back from the league-wide All-Star break. Burakovsky resumed skating last month in an effort to be healthy for training camp, which seems to have been a successful endeavor.
Since joining the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, Burakovsky has quietly become one of the more efficient point producers in the NHL – earning him a hefty five-year, $27.5M commitment from Seattle in free agency last summer. Health has been a concern for him, however. While shortened seasons have also played a factor, Burakovsky has played more than 60 games in a season only once over the course of the past four years.
Still, his 0.79 points per game over the past four seasons are on par with other top-six stalwarts like Matt Duchene, Brock Nelson, and others, despite averaging significantly less ice time than his peer group. He is projected to resume a top-six role for the Kraken, skating on a veteran second line alongside Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Wennberg.
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