Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol announced that winger Andre Burakovsky is currently day-to-day with an unspecified injury and will miss Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Up to this point, the Kraken have given no other details on the injury to Burakovsky, 29, like when it occurred and what the injury is. He played the entirety of Monday’s game 4-3 shootout win over the Boston Bruins, including two shifts in overtime, so he either played through the injury during the game or suffered the injury after the game. It’s also not confirmed as to whether or not the injury is related to either of the upper-body injuries that kept him out of the lineup for most of the first few months of the season.
Burakovsky’s season has been a struggle even when he’s been healthy, as he has just 1 goal and 8 assists for 9 points in 27 games. Assuming his injury doesn’t keep him out of the lineup for much longer, he’s on pace for only 16 points, which would be the lowest point total in a season in his NHL career.
Burakovsky was the 23rd-overall pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL Draft, and after making his NHL debut in the 2014-15 season, he spent five seasons in Washington, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 2018. He was then traded to the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 offseason, where he spent three seasons, winning another Stanley Cup in 2022 before departing to free agency that year.
Burakovsky then signed his current five-year contract with a $5.5 million cap hit with the Kraken that summer, which he is now in the second year of.
With Burakovsky out, Tye Kartye draws into the lineup and will slot into Burakovsky’s spot on the third line alongside Yanni Gourde and Eeli Tolvanen, a combination that has outscored opponents 1-0 and has a 68.29% 5v5 expected goal share in 6:54 of ice time together. Kartye has 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points in 53 games this season.
The Kraken currently sit in sixth in the Pacific Division with a 25-22-10 record, which is seven points behind the Nashville Predators for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Seattle will look to build off of wins in four of their last six games when they host the Penguins on Thursday at 10 p.m. EST.
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