Stars and Sticks
Fansided

Washington Capitals: Andre Burakovsky’s 2018-19 Final Grade

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: Washington Capitals left wing Andre Burakovsky (65) looks through his visor during the Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals NHL game March 26, 2019 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: Washington Capitals left wing Andre Burakovsky (65) looks through his visor during the Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals NHL game March 26, 2019 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Washington Capitals left winger Andre Burakovsky was inconsistent the last few seasons but does show offensive potential in spurts.

Andre Burakovsky got off to another slow start to the season but had a more consistent second after knowing the security that he wouldn’t get traded at the deadline. And there were rumors that he was trade bait at the time for the Washington Capitals.

Burakovsky played alongside Brett Connolly and Lars Eller on the third line before the midseason trade for Carl Hagelin, then dropped to the fourth line next to the Chandler Stephenson/Travis Boyd rotation with Nic Dowd centering.

His offensive numbers were identical to the previous season: 12 goals (10th on the team), 13 assists for 25 points and it was the third straight season he recorded a dozen goals compared to the career-high 17 he scored in the 2015-16 campaign.

More from Capitals News

Injuries also played a factor in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 season but last season Burakovsky had a full healthy season and was scratched six times. But let’s dive deep into the numbers from both lines Burakovsky suited up on.

The advanced numbers tell a different story in both the regular season and the playoffs. Burakovsky was 11th among forwards with a Corsi-For percentage of 47.93%. As for the playoffs, despite only scoring in Game 7 and recording an assist the previous game, Burakovsky was second to Chandler Stephenson with a CF of 46.40%.

As for the lines, the Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly line posted a CF percentage of 46.99% with a high-danger chances for percentage of 40%. When Burakovsky dropped to the fourth line, his CF spiked with Stephenson in at 48.94% while decreasing at 44.63% with Boyd slotted in. These numbers all came from the clutch source of Natural Stat Trick.

With Burakovsky entering this summer as an RFA and limited space under the cap, who knows what his future in Washington will forecast?

“I love Washington, love my teammates, everyone around that organization so my goal is to stay and hopefully I’ll be there next year,” Burakovsky told the media back on breakdown day.

After their recent moves, which included trading Matt Niskanen to the Flyers for Radko Gudas and re-signing Carl Hagelin for an four-year 11-million contract, it’s looking all the more likely he might not be back.

Don’t forget, Jakub Vrana is likely going to be next in line to get paid a big deal or a bridge deal, and there’s still Christian Djoos as well.

Grade C-: Andre Burakovsky did his part in making adjustments to his game in the second half which helped get him over the curb but another inconsistent season where he didn’t produce the offensive numbers are expected is why I graded him a C-.

Next. Braden Holltby's Final Grade. dark

If Burakovsky doesn’t come back next season, however, he’ll always be remembered in Washington for showing the clutch genes in a Game 7 that helped the Capitals advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Home/Capitals News