Future of ‘Burmi’ may get intriguing

Has had talks with Jets management

By: Ed Tait Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2015

HE left in a huff and hasn't played an NHL game in over two years. And yet Alex Burmistrov's future -- whether it is in Winnipeg or elsewhere -- could be one of many juicy storylines to unfold at this weekend's draft in Sunrise, Fla.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/06/2015 (3728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE left in a huff and hasn’t played an NHL game in over two years. And yet Alex Burmistrov’s future — whether it is in Winnipeg or elsewhere — could be one of many juicy storylines to unfold at this weekend’s draft in Sunrise, Fla.

So while the Jets have a couple of picks in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday, it’s what unfolds with the club’s first-rounder from five years ago that could be part of headlines.

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said Tuesday he will continue conversations with Burmistrov’s agent, Mike Liut, in the next few days, this time face to face, after he arrives in Sunrise from the GMs meetings in Las Vegas. And while the Jets-Burmistrov relationship was stormy a couple of years ago when he left the organization to sign with Ak-Bars Kazan in the KHL, it seems two years apart may have soothed some wounds.

Darko Bandic / Associated Press files
Russia forward Alexander Burmistrov goes for the puck during a match between Russia and USA at the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk, Belarus. — Darko Bandic / Associated Press files Russia forward Alexander Burmistrov goes for the puck during a match between Russia and USA at the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk, Belarus.

“He’s still a young player,” said Cheveldayoff from Vegas. “We’ll see what opportunities present themselves as we continue to have good dialogue.”

Cheveldayoff is always close to the vest in negotiating in public on an issue, but when asked whether Burmistrov’s NHL future would be in Winnipeg, the Jets GM gave an intriguing answer that spoke of how the club’s position may have softened. At the same time, he also didn’t make any kind of guarantees the 23-year-old Russian would be in Jets training camp this fall.

“The situations and circumstances from two years ago are dramatically different than what they are today,” said Cheveldayoff. “From Burmi’s standpoint, he’s two years older, two years more mature. From our standpoint, we’re two years older, two years more mature as a franchise. Obviously, we’re in a situation where Paul Maurice is now the coach, which is different than at that point in time (2013, when Claude Noel was the bench boss).

“In this game you have to be prepared for a lot of different things. You look around the league and there’s situations like this that happen… you just have to have an open mind and continue to build. Burmi is a young player still, and around the league, young players are what teams are coveting. Again, you need to have that growth. In order to take the next steps as franchises, you need to have players in your organization that have not reached their ceiling. That’s where the youth comes in.”

Burmistrov was drafted eighth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010 and was in the NHL that fall.

He has 23 goals and 35 assists in 194 NHL games, but spent the last two years with his hometown team in the KHL. He and Noel did not see eye to eye, but Maurice did speak to Burmistrov at last year’s world championships.

Now, Burmistrov’s name did come up in rumours near the trade deadline, including being linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he was still under contract to the KHL at the time. Now there is clarity on that end, his value to the Jets as a possible trade asset may never be higher.

‘He’s still a young player. We’ll see what opportunities present themselves as we continue to have good dialogue’

— GM Kevin Cheveldayoff on Alex Burmistrov

Then again, with a number of veteran forwards poised to hit the free agent market next week — including Michael Frolik, Drew Stafford, Jim Slater, Jiri Tlusty and Lee Stempniak — the Jets will have some holes to fill in their lineup, and adding a young and versatile first-rounder could be an appealing option.

“We’ll see how the talks progress,” said Cheveldayoff. “I don’t think anything is out of the realm of possibility… a year ago now Paul Maurice and Burmi did meet and had some very good conversations. But Alex had a two-year contract that he was committed he was fulfilling to term.

There’s been some conversations that have happened over the course in time and it’s led to where we’re at right now.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait

CHEVY SAYS

JETS GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is a busy man these days and, in particular, this week. He was to leave the NHL GMs meetings in Las Vegas Tuesday night and arrive in Florida this morning to begin preparations for the draft Friday and Saturday.

Here’s Cheveldayoff on a couple of other topics:

On the status of the club’s pending unrestricted free agents, including Michael Frolik, Drew Stafford, Lee Stempniak, Jim Slater, Jiri Tlusty and others:

“We’re working hard at it. Good and open dialogue with many of the UFAs. It’s inevitable that we will not have all of them back. Would we like to bring some of them back? Certainly, we’ve been open about that. But (free agency) is a period of time the players have earned the right to go to, and we’ll see how it plays out.”

On the NHL’s 2015-16 salary cap, set Tuesday with an upper limit of $71.4 million and a floor or $52.8 million:

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to a lot of counterparts here, but I will at the meetings. But I think everyone’s happy that they got the number today, because the earlier you can get that number and have some certainty on how you can move forward, it is important. We’re all dealing with trying to sign RFAs or UFAs, and not having a solid number in front of you makes things a little bit difficult, difficult from a signing standpoint and difficult from a player-agreeing standpoint. Everyone wants to know what might be available out there for him. We’re entering another unique part of the CBA where you have an interview period, which starts on Thursday (where teams can ‘court’ prospective free agents in advance of the market opening on July 1). That’s a different phenomenon that we’re all learning the ins and outs from that standpoint. I guess once all things come into play and now you know your number, you can really start making your final plans for how you can move forward.”

On contract discussions with Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien, both of whom are entering the option year of their contracts:

“Like everything, there’s lots of moving parts that come into play. But we’ve had good conversations with the agents for both players.”