In the latest NHL rumors, it appears one of the Vancouver Canucks’ players is calling it quits in exchange for returning home and playing in another league. Canucks center Alexander Burmistrov has recently announced his retirement from the National Hockey League. The former first-round NHL Draft pick has noted a lack of playing time and a desire to return home as parts of his recent decision.
According to Pro Hockey Rumors on Sunday, the news of Burmistrov’s decision to retire was announced by NHL player agent Dan Milstein. The announcement comes after Burmistrov made recent comments about wanting to be more of a part of the team at this point in his career, but with very little time on the ice, it was a major frustration for him at this level. The 26-year-old recorded just under five minutes of playing time against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night and was listed as a “healthy scratch” for the team’s game just last night.
The Vancouver center was previously the No. 8 pick back in the NHL Draft in 2010. However, he never quite achieved the career he was projected to based on his draft position and scouting reports. The Russian star began his career with Winnipeg where he played for three seasons before switching over to the Arizona Coyotes and more recently, the Vancouver Canucks. However, his NHL stats haven’t been the most productive with the exception of a season or two.
Alexander Burmistrov had career numbers which included 37 goals and 62 assists for 101 points in 346 games played. The most goals he achieved in a single season was 13 with 15 the most assists he had. Both of those marks were reached in the 2011-12 NHL season. With his current team, Burmistrov has scored two goals to go with four assists. The Canucks are currently 15-17-5 and seventh in the Pacific Division and Burmistrov has never appeared in the playoffs during his career.
Alex Burmistrov is happy after recording his first goal in a #Canucks uniform. pic.twitter.com/OGyRDVD5ls
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 18, 2017
So what’s up next for Alexander Burmistrov? It appears he’s not yet done with playing hockey and will return to his previous stomping grounds. According to a tweet from NHL.com ‘s Pavel Lysenkov , Burmistrov will head back to the Ak Bars Kazan team of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) very soon, where he played for multiple seasons before.
