When news of the trade first broke, there was an initial shock among fans.
Alex Burrows was in the middle of an off year with the Vancouver Canucks and seemed like a player in the twilight of a good career. As details of the trade began to emerge the shock gradually evolved into a full-on meltdown.
Not only had the Senators given up one of their most promising prospects in Jonathan Dahlen but they had also thrown a two year extension at Burrows before he ever even played a game with the organization. While the deal and contract were both required to make the trade happen, there were legitimate questions about the price first year General Manager Pierre Dorion paid to get it done.
Burrows made an immediate impact though, scoring twice in his first game with the Senators and adding four more goals during his brief 20 games stint in the regular season.
In the playoffs, he had just 5 assists through 15 games but seemed to find himself in the middle of some of the team’s biggest goals of the post-season.
He set a perfect screen on Phaneuf’s OT winner, picked up an assist on Ryan’s OT goal in Boston and was the recipient of a stretch pass from Erik Karlsson that led to Kyle Turris winning Game 5 against the Rangers. While his offensive numbers didn’t exactly jump off the page during the playoffs, his responsible play at both ends of the rink was certainly an asset.
Unfortunately, his season came to an end earlier than expected as a high-ankle sprain forced him out of the line up in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It was a disappointing end to a pretty good first impression.
And now, Alex Burrows will settle into life with the Ottawa Senators as the 36 year old has two years left on his contract at $2.5 mil a season.
His late-season audition with the Senators proved that he can still be a useful player at both ends of the rink. Guy Boucher used him throughout the line up down the stretch, including time on both LW and RW and fairly regular shifts on the power play. He can expect more of the same in 2017/2018. While the agitator element of his game seems to have faded a little bit and was almost non-existent last year, the Senators could use a little bit of that from him too.
His offensive production has trailed off significantly the last few years but if he can come anywhere close to the 0.55 points per game he put up down the stretch, that would be a huge bonus.
What do you expect from Alex Burrows in his first full season with the Ottawa Senators?
