Confirmed with Link: Avs re-sign Burakovsky

[Pokecheque]

This is what you get with Burakovsky; stretches of brilliance followed by stretches where he seemingly can’t even complete a simple pass. If he wasn’t wildly inconsistent despite amazing talent, he’d still be in Washington.

I’m glad they avoided anything long-term with him, this is a guy you should not lock down with a big contract. He was a savvy pickup and proved his worth in the playoffs, but he’s also an extremely frustrating player prone to prolonged slumps, and he’s in one of those right now.

 

[Richard88]

This is what you get with Burakovsky; stretches of brilliance followed by stretches where he seemingly can’t even complete a simple pass. If he wasn’t wildly inconsistent despite amazing talent, he’d still be in Washington.

I’m glad they avoided anything long-term with him, this is a guy you should not lock down with a big contract. He was a savvy pickup and proved his worth in the playoffs, but he’s also an extremely frustrating player prone to prolonged slumps, and he’s in one of those right now.

To be fair this slump has coincided with the flurry of injuries that forced some crazy AHL-esque lines against Minnesota and 3 games against a strong defensive team in Vegas right on the back of a two week break. These aren't exactly normal circumstances, and I'd expect him to get back to business once he finds a rhythm again.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I guess the good part of winning is some guys struggles can fly under the radar.

I hadn’t even realized Burakovsky was pointless in 5 straight.

 

[Pokecheque]

To be fair this slump has coincided with the flurry of injuries that forced some crazy AHL-esque lines against Minnesota and 3 games against a strong defensive team in Vegas right on the back of a two week break. These aren't exactly normal circumstances, and I'd expect him to get back to business once he finds a rhythm again.

Naw. He was fantastic for the team when injuries were piling up (and he was the same way in the Bubble when the team got increasingly banged-up) so I don't buy the injuries excuse. He's doing what he always does in terms of carrying the puck well, but he's just not executing. Shots aren't hitting the net and he's not making the crisp passes we know he can make.

It's fine though--this is why he was available in the first place. He is a problematic, but fantastic talent. I imagine he'll right the ship soon enough. Either way I like the guy, I just know he's going to enter these phases now and then where he's just not on it.

 

[The Kingslayer]

he needs to get back to looking shot first. He does that he will be fine. He wants to play like Tanguay hes going to go pointless alot longer.

 

[Richard88]

Naw. He was fantastic for the team when injuries were piling up (and he was the same way in the Bubble when the team got increasingly banged-up) so I don't buy the injuries excuse. He's doing what he always does in terms of carrying the puck well, but he's just not executing. Shots aren't hitting the net and he's not making the crisp passes we know he can make.

It's fine though--this is why he was available in the first place. He is a problematic, but fantastic talent. I imagine he'll right the ship soon enough. Either way I like the guy, I just know he's going to enter these phases now and then where he's just not on it.

We've got a few streaky scorers in the middle 6, but as long as at least one or two of them are scoring at any given time we'll be ok.

For example, to start the year Burakovsky was on fire, while Kadri, Saad, and Donskoi were awful. Then as Burakovsky's goals dried up things clicked for Kadri and Saad and they've been good since. Donskoi has been scoring at a good rate too the last few games. I feel pretty comfortable with those four overall. The bottom 6 overall could do with some help offensively though.

 

[Pokecheque]

We've got a few streaky scorers in the middle 6, but as long as at least one or two of them are scoring at any given time we'll be ok.

For example, to start the year Burakovsky was on fire, while Kadri, Saad, and Donskoi were awful. Then as Burakovsky's goals dried up things clicked for Kadri and Saad and they've been good since. Donskoi has been scoring at a good rate too the last few games. I feel pretty comfortable with those four overall. The bottom 6 overall could do with some help offensively though.

It would be less of a problem if the entire bottom six wasn’t comprised either of players who are great defensively but can’t buy a goal and one guy who is playing like an ECHL scrub.

 

[Balthazar]

It would be less of a problem if the entire bottom six wasn’t comprised either of players who are great defensively but can’t buy a goal and one guy who is playing like an ECHL scrub.

Yea I'm starting to doubt our bottom 6.

Cup winners have a good bottom 6.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

To be fair this slump has coincided with the flurry of injuries that forced some crazy AHL-esque lines against Minnesota and 3 games against a strong defensive team in Vegas right on the back of a two week break. These aren't exactly normal circumstances, and I'd expect him to get back to business once he finds a rhythm again.

I'll say it again, he hasn't been the same since he got hurt. Hopefully he figures it out soon.

 

[nammerus]

Yea I'm starting to doubt our bottom 6.

Cup winners have a good bottom 6.

Sakic disagrees. He has done nothing about it for the last two years. Unless you count getting Saad to push Nichushkin (he of 3 points in 14 games) down.

 

[McMetal]

Calvert and Bellemare had career years offensively last year, that kind of skewed things for bottom six scoring last year. I agree that having better C's in there would help things, but honestly the personnel hasn't changed much since last year, it's just that some players are regressing to the mean, and Compher is regressing into something other than a hockey player.

 

[Richard88]

Yea I'm starting to doubt our bottom 6.

Cup winners have a good bottom 6.

Tampa also lacked a good 3rd line until the deadline last year. The issues with our 3rd line can be easily remedied with one or two smart trades at the deadline.

Landeskog - Mackinnon - Rantanen: --- A top 3 line in the league

Burakovsky - Kadri - Saad: ----- Solid 2nd line, albeit with some flaws

xxxxx -- xxxxx -- Donskoi: ------ One middle 6 scoring winger and then two spots for deadline acquisitions

Nichuskin - Jost/Bellemare - Calvert/O'Connor: ----- Solid defensive 4th line with good PKers.

 

[Richard88]

Sakic disagrees. He has done nothing about it for the last two years. Unless you count getting Saad to push Nichushkin (he of 3 points in 14 games) down.

Sakic has clearly prioritised the right things in the right offseasons:

2018: Added starting goaltender, veteran depth guys (Calvert, Cole), and some promising depth pieces in Graves, Francouz.
2019: Added an entire 2nd line (Burakovsky trade, Kadri trade, Donskoi signing), signed Nichuskin
2020: Acquired 1st pairing LD and a top 6 forward.

He seems to have worked his way down the lineup somewhat.

We had the 1st line. Then he got the 2nd line. And then he augmented the 2nd line to effectively start reshaping the 3rd line by bumping Donskoi down.

We had one No.2 LHD and two 3rd pairing Dmen (Graves and Zadorov). He traded for another 1st pairing LHD and moved one of the 3rd pairing Dmen. And also moved Cole at an appropriate time.

I have absolutely no doubt that the next thing on Sakic's list is to fix the 3rd line to complete the puzzle. It's just a shame that we have an anchor contract at 3C right now which makes it difficult to make moves right now.

 

[Balthazar]

Sakic has clearly prioritised the right things in the right offseasons

In hindsight, we needed a goalie and a 3C more than we needed to spend 5M on Saad. Especially with Donskoi's play since the beginning of the season.

 

[Pokecheque]

A good third line center and reintroduction of LOC makes a noticeable difference. LOC gives that fourth line a legit scoring thread and everything falls into place on that third line—I think you’ll see somewhat better offensive output with Nuke on the left and Burakovsky/Donskoi on the right if they have a good center.

I also hope they move on from Jost too. I realize he’s far from being the problem but he’s also not the solution. Enough already. Move on.

 

[Richard88]

In hindsight, we needed a goalie and a 3C more than we needed to spend 5M on Saad. Especially with Donskoi's play since the beginning of the season.

Hmm, hard to conclude that it was a bad decision without knowing the full context of what he's planning to to at the deadline.

Acquiring a 3C at the deadline is easier and cheaper than acquiring a top 6 forward. He got Saad for the price of Zadorov in the offseason when a top 6 forward at the deadline would cost a 1st.

Doing it the other way around (with a 3C in the offseason and top 6 forward at the deadline) would likely come out as more expensive overall in terms of assets paid.

 

[Richard88]

A good third line center and reintroduction of LOC makes a noticeable difference. LOC gives that fourth line a legit scoring thread and everything falls into place on that third line—I think you’ll see somewhat better offensive output with Nuke on the left and Burakovsky/Donskoi on the right if they have a good center.

I also hope they move on from Jost too. I realize he’s far from being the problem but he’s also not the solution. Enough already. Move on.

Regarding Nichuskin, he seems to so often bring the puck in at the LW blueline, and dumps the puck in,... for Jost and Compher to chase down. Obviously they lose the 50/50 on the boards and the play goes the other way. He just can't get a foothold in the game on the cycle when he's playing with these guys, and that stunts his offense a great deal.

 

[Pokecheque]

Regarding Nichuskin, he seems to so often bring the puck in at the LW blueline, and dumps the puck in,... for Jost and Compher to chase down. Obviously they lose the 50/50 on the boards and the play goes the other way. He just can't get a foothold in the game on the cycle when he's playing with these guys, and that stunts his offense a great deal.

Agreed. There was a time when Compher and Jost worked well together. That time is long since past.

 

[henchman21]

Agreed. There was a time when Compher and Jost worked well together. That time is long since past.

They can still work well together... at Taco Bell.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Zero points over the last 5 games.

@SoundwaveIsCharisma Has been pointing out that Kadri doesn't use his line mates. We all know we can dismiss the idea of playing next to Compher.

If we can add a competent C, I'd really like it to be someone who can use his line mates and set guys up.

 

[AvsCOL]

Zero points over the last 5 games.

@SoundwaveIsCharisma Has been pointing out that Kadri doesn't use his line mates. We all know we can dismiss the idea of playing next to Compher.

If we can add a competent C, I'd really like it to be someone who can use his line mates and set guys up.

Kadri has been infuriating this year. His effort is only on the offensive side of things, and that little toe drag thing he does when he shoots is killing any chances he gets. Holding onto it way too long.

As happy as I've been with the Kadri acquisition, I'm ready for a high-motor guy like Newhook to settle in there.

 

[Avs36]

Its too bad about Calverts health and our cap situation. I would sure like to keep him on the 4th line. He's a great character guy, always plays hard, and while the natural offense isn't there for him he creates chances due to his hard work and effort.

Edit... Apparently I don't know how to post in the right place... whoops

 

[shadow1]

Bednar is a good coach, but I can't fathom why he keeps going back to the well with the Burakovsky - MacKinnon - Rantanen line.

Burakovsky isn't productive there because that other winger needs to do the dirty work and create space for MacKinnon and Rantanen.

 

[Pokecheque]

Its too bad about Calverts health and our cap situation. I would sure like to keep him on the 4th line. He's a great character guy, always plays hard, and while the natural offense isn't there for him he creates chances due to his hard work and effort.

Edit... Apparently I don't know how to post in the right place... whoops

Or with the right font

 

[Avs36]

Or with the right font

Yes I can't do that either!!