Montreal Canadiens Trade Option: Alex Burmistrov A Fit?
The Montreal Canadiens need to bring in center help. Alex Burmistrov’s name has been thrown out there as a possible future Habs player. Is he a good fit in Montreal?
The Montreal Canadiens were rumoured to be in the market for a center since the beginning of the season. Now that Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais are going to be out for six to eight weeks, it is imperative that the Habs land a center soon.
One name that immediately jumped into the rumour mill today was Alex Burmistrov of the Winnipeg Jets. Elliotte Friedman threw the name out there in his 30 Thoughts column as “purely conjecture.”
Burmistrov to the Habs makes sense as far as numbers go. The Jets have a lot of good centers, the Canadiens might have to use Kirk Muller as a third line center soon. However, though the Habs are in bad shape down the middle, Burmistrov is just not the answer to their needs.
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With Galchenyuk and Desharnais out for two months, the Habs center depth is something like Tomas Plekanec followed by Philip Danault, Torrey Mitchell and I guess Andrew Shaw would move to the middle. This is thin, to say the least.
So help is needed, but it’s unlikely Burmistrov would be an upgrade. The Jets first round pick in 2010 draft was once a highly touted prospect. However, his offensive game never developed and it would be unwise to expect him to score in Montreal.
Burmistrov hasn’t delivered on draft day hype
The Russian center made the NHL as an 18 year old when the Jets were still the Atlanta Thrashers. He was the eighth overall pick in his draft year, coming off a 65 point season with the Barrie Colts.
When Burmistrov was drafted he earned comparisons to some of the best two-way centers in the game. Though his offensive stats were not eye-popping for a player drafted in the top ten, his defensive game, hockey sense and smarts were supposed to make up for his lack of offence.
Burmistrov may be a strong defensive player, but his offensive game is so weak, you would be forgiven if you forgot he was a top ten pick recently. The 6’1″, slender center scored 20 points as a rookie with the Thrashers.
He followed that up with 28 points as a 19 year old and then scored ten in 44 games in his third season. Burmistrov got his first taste of AHL action that year, and scored just 11 points in 22 games with the St. John’s Ice Caps ironically.
Burmistrov then packed his bags for the KHL and suited up for Ak Bars Kazan for two years. He returned to the Jets as a 22 year old last season and scored 21 points in 81 games. He primarily played with Drew Stafford and Adam Lowry, so he was in more of a defensive role.
Burmistrov a strong defensive center, but brings no offence
This season, Burmistrov is playing as a fourth line center for the Jets. He is averaging 11:02 per game, mostly with Chris Thorburn and Brandon Tanev. He helps out on the penalty kill as well, but in 25 games Burmistrov has zero goals and two points.
Sometimes players just need a fresh start in a new city. Maybe the Canadiens get lucky and that’s exactly what Burmistrov needs. However, it just looks like he is not a player that can score at the NHL level.
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The Canadiens are desperate for help down the middle right now. Burmistrov is at best a third line center who can kill penalties. Even with their injuries, the Habs have Philip Danault, Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn who can play that role.
It would make more sense for the Canadiens to try Charles Hudon at center, move Shaw to the middle or call up Michael McCarron. If there aren’t any internal options that work, then you can turn to Burmistrov, though it would be a show of desperation.
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The Canadiens clearly need some help down the middle. However, they need someone capable of providing a little bit of offence as well. Burmistrov has some strengths as an NHL center, but scoring is certainly not one of them. Habs should pass and look elsewhere for center help.