Kraken relying big on Andre Burakovsky to rebound from injury

Last week’s passing of Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bobby Baun at age 86 immediately conjured the words “broken leg” to which the longtime defenseman was forever linked and whose crowning playoff performance resembles that of a current Kraken forward.

Baun memorably blocked a Gordie Howe slap shot with his ankle in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals with his Leafs trailing the Detroit Red Wings three games to two. He was carried off the ice with a fractured ankle that was frozen without being X-rayed, then returned to score the overtime winner that forced Game 7 – which the Leafs won 4-0 to capture their third straight championship.

The adage “they don’t make them like that anymore” is often applied to Baun, and if you’re a Leafs fan, the notion of a Cup threepeat sure seems from a bygone era given that franchise now struggles merely to escape the opening playoff round.

But they do, in fact, still make players who grind through even leg-breaking pain, and the Kraken have one that just more than one year ago came the closest in six decades to replicating Baun’s feat. That would be winger Andre Burakovsky, who scored the overtime winner for Colorado against Tampa Bay in Game 1 of the 2022 Cup Final while also playing on a fractured ankle suffered in the opening game of the prior round.

Sure, you can quibble that Baun scored his goal the same night as breaking his ankle while Burakovsky only returned after missing the next two contests. But a broken bone is a broken bone, and Burakovsky kept playing on one while contributing to Colorado’s title win with the OT goal and then a goal and an assist in a Game 2 victory.

Burakovsky broke his thumb later in Game 2 and missed the rest of the series, but not before attempting a Game 5 comeback aborted at the last minute.

So, Kraken fans can rest assured that Burakovsky was already quite seasoned at rebounding from injury and playing through pain even before his season ending torn groin muscle suffered in early February against the New York Islanders. And we can’t overstate the importance Burakovsky rallying back from that latest injury without a hitch this fall could have on Kraken chances this coming season.

Burakovsky led the Kraken in points at the time of his injury with 39 in 49 games.

“He was our leading scorer when he went out, so we’re hoping he can come back and get to the level he’s capable of,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis told me Tuesday.

And Francis said the latest word from Burakovsky’s offseason home in Malmo, Sweden, is the 6-foot-3, 209-pounder is back on the ice and should be 100% ready when training camp opens a month from now. The Kraken dispatched a strength and conditioning coach to Sweden last month to work with Burakovsky, and he reported that all went well.

The Kraken replacing above average fourth line production lost from the summer departures of Daniel Sprong, Morgan Geekie and Ryan Donato – 44 goals, 101 combined points – will be key. With lesser fourth line production, they’d need more scoring from their top-three trios.

Francis hopes for increased production from Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers, as well as Oliver Bjorkstrand – who came on strong once adapting to new Kraken teammates. But Francis is also clearly counting on Burakovsky’s return being akin to adding a top producer via trade or free agency.

Burakovsky notched 14 of his 39 points on the power play, and his absence loomed large midway through the Kraken’s seven-game elimination by Dallas in the second playoff round.

That series saw the Kraken outscored 4-2 in power play goals. The Stars got a critical power play tally from Jamie Benn to start them toward a key Game 4 victory at Climate Pledge Arena that prevented the Kraken from taking a 3-1 series stranglehold. Joe Pavelski also scored a power-play goal that broke that contest wide open.

The Kraken, meanwhile, went 2-for-15 on the power play that series. They notably failed to capitalize on a second-period man advantage in Game 5 in Dallas, having already scored twice in the prior minutes to cut into a 3-0 deficit.

The Stars subsequently regrouped, adding two more goals to prevail 5-2. Though the Kraken eventually tied the series at home, the inability to close it out earlier proved costly as they seemed gassed by Game 7.

“It’s harder to score that time of year, but certainly a guy with his skill set can make that individual play and get you a goal whether it’s on the power play or at five-on-five,” Francis said of Burakovsky’s absence. “He has that ability to do that, the shot and the skill set. So, did we miss him? Hell yeah.”

Francis expected Burakovsky back a week after the March 3 trade deadline, but the winger suffered a “setback” and then another at month’s end. He opted for surgery that might have enabled his return had the Kraken’s playoff run gone deeper, but it instead effectively ended his season.

Seeing where Burakovsky slots among forwards should prove interesting. The Kraken played him primarily with Alex Wennberg and Jaden Schwartz last season, as well as with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle and with Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

But Beniers and Eberle fared well with Jared McCann after Burakovsky’s injury while Bjorkstrand thrived on a line with Eeli Tolvanen and Yanni Gourde. That leaves Wennberg and Schwartz as likely linemates, and Francis agreed they appear to make the most sense. But he’ll wait on any decisions until talking first with Kraken coach Dave Hakstol.

From there, Francis hopes Burakovsky takes the Kraken that next step.

Baun won four Cups with Toronto but only one after that 1964 title, and the Leafs haven’t captured any since his last in 1967. Even Hall of Famer Howe, who played until 1980 at age 52, couldn’t win more Cups after 1955 while Detroit’s failure to close out the 1964 series meant their title drought extended to 42 years before finally winning another in 1997.

Burakovsky is already halfway to the four Cups apiece for Baun and Howe, winning with Washington in 2018 and then Colorado. The Kraken now hope he can land No. 3 before his remaining four contract years expire.

And getting Burakovsky back to his point-notching ways – if not the same night, or playoff cycle this time, but at least this calendar year – should be a serious push in that direction.