Burmistrov goes to Arizona

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This article was published 02/01/2017 (3176 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alex Burmistrov is heading to the Arizona desert after the NHL’s Coyotes claimed the 25-year-old Russian forward, who was placed on waivers Sunday by the Winnipeg Jets.

The Jets confirmed the deal today.

“It got to the point…Alex has a real strong view of what he’s good at,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice following the team’s practice in Tampa ahead of their game Tuesday night against the Lightning. “I think that’s the most important thing: that a coach and player agree on what they’re good at. And then the coach will put them in the position then to succeed. Alex and I really would never agree on that and I had guys ahead of him. I knew Alex was interested in getting an opportunity to get those minutes, and playing somewhere else, he’d be fine and open to that. I’m happy for him, I really am.”

The Coyotes, who have lost seven consecutive games, dressed only 11 forwards in a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames Saturday night.

Burmistrov was the eighth overall choice of the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2010 NHL Draft and played for the Thrashers and then the Jets from 2010-11 to 2012-13. However, unhappy with his role under then-head coach Claude Noel, Burmistrov decided to go home and spent two seasons in the KHL with Ak-Bars Kazan.

He re-signed with the Jets in July of 2015, inking a two-year deal worth US$3.1 million. He could become a restricted free agent in July.

Burmistrov had been a healthy scratch for 10 consecutive games and has suited up for 23 games in 2016-17, registering two assists and six penalty minutes. He was a healthy scratch for the club’s regular-season opener Oct. 13 and then played 20 of the next 21 games, missing one game in November due to an upper-body injury.

“He didn’t feel I gave him the opportunity and he’d be right that I did not give him the opportunity to play with the kind of players he wanted to play with,” added Maurice. “And it became more difficult this year when you have Patty Laine come in and take a that hole in that top-6. The chance of him getting to play there — I had Adam Lowry ahead of him, Joel Armia comes in — so it got tougher and tougher for him to get more meaningful minutes. So he gets a chance now to go do that and I’m happy for him, he’s earned that. I don’t imagine he enjoyed his experience in that, it was hard for him, but I think he handled that pretty darn well.”

His opportunity for playing time worsened recently when forwards Joel Armia, Nic Petan and Shawn Matthias returned to active duty after lengthy stints on the injured reserve list.

Burmistrov dressed for 81 games in 2015-16, scoring seven goals and 21 points while filling roles on the club’s third and fourth lines and the penalty-killing unit.

He has played 298 games during his NHL career, collecting 30 goals, 51 assists and 121 penalty minutes.