Colorado Avalanche: Grading the Andre Burakovsky signing

The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed AndreBurakovsky.

The Colorado Avalanche have a busy offseason ahead of them, as they’ll have to re-sign several key free agents and try to add some missing pieces to a team on the verge of greatness. One of those key free agents is Andre Burakovsky, who had a breakout season.

According to Darren Dreger, the two sides have agreed to a two-year deal. Burakovsky will be paid $4.4 million in the first season and $5.4 million in the second season. That’s a cap hit of $4.9 million. Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic confirmed those details.

This deal takes Burakovsky straight to unrestricted free agency. I’m a little surprised neither side felt strongly enough about a long-term deal to make it happen, but considering all the decisions the Avalanche will have to make over the next two seasons, a two-year deal makes sense for both parties.

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

Colorado traded for Burakovsky last offseason, hoping he would deliver on his massive potential. In many ways, he did that for the Avalanche in 2019-20. Burakovsky set career highs with 20 goals, 25 assists, and 45 points in 58 games. Additionally, he had 17 points in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

To put it in perspective, Burakovsky had 25 total points during the 2018-19 season, his final one with the Washington Capitals. He had 25 assists last season.

True, Burakovsky granted from having some excellent linemates. His two primary centers at 5v5 were Nazem Kadri and Nathan MacKinnon. Burakovsky also played a lot with Joonas Donksoi, who is a very effective player. Compare that to his final season with the Capitals. His two primary centers? Lars Eller and Travis Boyd.

The Avalanche, though, saw what Burakovsky could do. They saw his flashes of brilliance and bet on him showing them more consistently. Burakovsky did and earned himself a nice contract. He’s scheduled to become a UFA in 2022, when he’ll be just 27 years old. Assuming the cap is back to normal by then, he is in a very good position to get a huge long-term deal.

Grade

Overall, this deal makes quite a bit of sense for both sides. Both sides are getting what they want, more or less. The Avalanche get to see if Burakovsky’s worth investing in long-term while Burakovsky gets his first huge deal.