Kraken winger André Burakovsky to miss start of playoffs after surgery
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 25: Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Seattle Kraken skates against Jack Studnicka #18 of the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Climate Pledge Arena on January 25, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambe
SEATTLE - Seattle Kraken winger André Burakovsky will be unavailable for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as he's had surgery to address an ongoing lower body injury that has kept him out of the lineup since February 7.
"He had one setback, but we thought he could come back," general manager Ron Francis told Geoff baker of The Seattle Times. "But then he had the second setback and that’s when we sent him to see the specialist and he had the surgery pretty quickly after that."
Per Baker, the surgery is expected to sideline Burakovsky for roughly six weeks, which would keep him out of action until much deeper in the playoffs should Seattle advance that far. He wouldn't be able to return until at least the Western Conference Final.
Burakovsky was the Kraken's leading scorer at the time of his injury. In 49 games played, Burakovsky had 39 points on 13 goals and 26 assists.
Seattle has used various forwards in Burakovsky's spot since the time of his injury. The team has settled in to a lineup look that has Morgan Geekie playing in Burakovsky's spot on a line with Jaden Schwartz and Alex Wennberg.
Ryan Donato has assumed Geekie's spot as the center on the fourth line amid the shuffling.
Burakovsky played just 21 seconds in a game against the New York Islanders in Seattle's first game back from the All-Star break before exiting the contest with the injury. He was making a turn near center ice and was noticeably affected as he headed to the bench hunched over at the waist.
Burakovsky was back doing on-ice workouts at the Kraken Community Iceplex on March 8 but suffered a setback that kept him from re-joining practices. Burakovsky then returned to one practice with the team on April 3 before again disappearing from sight. It seems as though the decision for surgery came following that brief return to practice.
Burakovsky's absence is a blow to Seattle's playoff chances. The Kraken have just two wins against playoff teams in the 32 games Burakovsky has been out of the lineup. Those two wins both came in overtime against the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, who are the two teams Seattle could face in the first round set to begin next week.
Team Awards:
Pete Muldoon MVP Award (as voted by local media): Vince Dunn
Gulye Fielder Award for perseverance, hustle & dedication (as voted by players): Jaden Schwartz
Three Stars Award (most three stars appearances in home games): Jared McCann
Fan Favorite (as voted by fans): Matty Beniers