Blackhawks Acquire Andre Burakovsky in a Head-Scratching Trade

So much for sleeping in on a Saturday! The Chicago Blackhawks acquired left wing Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken for center Joe Veleno this morning. While Burakovsky is a better player than Veleno, this move doesn’t make much sense.

Veleno, 25, was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline as part of the Petr Mrazek deal. He had three goals and seven points in his 18 games with the Blackhawks. With the roster getting younger, it would be hard for Veleno to earn a spot this fall. There was even some chatter earlier this month that he could be a buyout candidate this summer. Instead, he gets another fresh start with the Kraken.

Trading Veleno is fine, but bringing back Burakovsky is a bit of a head-scratcher. Sure, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion, with the Washington Capitals in 2018 and the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. But he’s five years older than Veleno and has been an underachiever in his career.

Originally drafted 13^th overall by the Capitals in 2013, he never scored more than 17 goals in his five seasons with Washington. He was eventually traded to Colorado for a pair of draft picks in 2019. He exploded during the Stanley Cup season of 2021-22 with a career-high 22 goals and 61 points. It didn’t hurt to have his career-best year heading into free agency, where the Kraken gave him a five-year, $27.5 million contract.

Burakovsky’s three seasons with the Kraken were disappointing. Injuries limited him to 98 games and 20 goals in his first two seasons. He played in 79 games last season, scoring 10 goals and 37 points. He is definitely not worth $5.5 million.

If Veleno hadn’t made the team in camp, he could have been moved then or stashed away in Rockford if unclaimed on waivers. Burakovsky feels more like a guy who will block a young player for the next two seasons. You can’t tell me you can’t get 10 goals and 37 points from Oliver Moore or Colton Dach. Maybe Kyle Davidson buys out Burakovsky like he did with Josh Bailey two years ago, but that doesn’t make sense. At least then, they got a second-round pick from the New York Islanders to take that contract off their hands. There was no other compensation from the Kraken, so a buyout is unlikely.