Two-time Stanley Cup champion traded in blockbuster move: Burakovsky joins a Canadian team

The Ottawa Senators landed André Burakovsky from the Chicago Blackhawks this Friday afternoon, sending a 2027 sixth-round pick back to Chicago in return.

It is about as low-cost an acquisition as you can make at this stage.

A sixth-round pick in 2027 for a 31-year-old Swedish forward who carries a $5.5 million cap hit. Travis Green and GM Steve Staios clearly saw a specific need and filled it without breaking a sweat.

The problem is the fit needs some explaining.

Burakovsky wrapped up the season with 11 goals and 33 points in 75 games with the Blackhawks, but the underlying picture is uglier than that line suggests.

He finished at -32 on a Chicago team that went 29-39-14 and posted a -62 goal differential on the season. That is a bad team, but -32 is still a number that demands context.

Over his last 10 games, he was held scoreless with 2 assists and went minus-9.

Burakovsky's cap hit complicates Ottawa's summer plans

That $5.5 million cap hit is the part that stings a little.

Ottawa finished 44-27-11 with 99 points and a +32 differential. They are not a broken team adding a reclamation project for fun.

But a 31-year-old coming off a minus season on a rebuilding team is basically a question mark wrapped in a Blackhawks jersey. You are betting on a bounce-back in a better environment, which is exactly the kind of bet that looks smart until it doesn't.

To be fair, the Senators are getting a forward who, when healthy and deployed correctly, can move on the power play. He had 3 power play goals and 7 power play assists this season. That production does not vanish overnight.

It is a bit like buying a sports car with unclear mileage. The engine might still have something left. Or it might need a complete rebuild by December.

Green will have to figure out where Burakovsky actually fits in a lineup that already has Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and Dylan Cozens eating up the top-six ice time.