Is Burrows on his way out if Doan signs?
11 years ago
The News1130Sports Twitter feed is on something of a Terry Bross fueled rampage today. The popular news feed is also catching some blowback for a tweet that suggested that – should Doan sign in Vancouver – popular winger Alex Burrows’ days with the team could be numbered.
If Shane Doan signs in Vancouver – say bye to Alexandre Burrows.— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 14, 2012
Generally speaking, the News1130Sports Twitter feed is reliable when it is reporting sourced chatter (usually from player agents). There have been times this summer, however, when the feed has reported preposterous rumours (Eddie Lack considering signing in the SEL for example) or has piggy packed off of others reports without credit. Also, sometimes it’s not clear when the account is expressing an opinion, or quoting a source. In this case, I think we can safely call this tweet an "opinion tweet" and take it with a grain of salt.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Burrows’ future with the Canucks is secure in perpetuity. Read on past the jump.
As Jason Botchford reported today, Burrows and his agent Todd Corbeil are looking for a big payday:
Burrows, like many NHL players this summer, is looking to squeeze a longer-term deal in before the CBA expires on Saturday. On that front, the Canucks are on the same page.But for how long?Burrows will be 32 when his current, bargain-bin deal — four-years $8 million, expires in July — and the Canucks have long been uneasy paying players top dollar after the age of 34. Though they’ve made exceptions before and would love to make another one if Shane Doan would ever sign their offer.Recently, we’ve seen players like Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds sign six-year extensions.That’s what we’re looking at from our side,” Corbeil said. “A (deal) that’s about six years. Five or six years"…
That term is the biggest "obstacle" between the Canucks and Alex Burrows getting together to sign a long-term extension isn’t a surprise. I summarized the reasons why the Canucks should be hesitant to extend Burrows for more than three seasons earlier this week:
Burrows turned 31 in April so any extension he signs would kick in for his 32 year old season. A three year extension takes him through to the age of 35, while a four year extension takes him to the age of 36. Because of Burrows’ age, the Canucks will surely incur some degree of "diminishing returns" on any long-term investment.It’s a good bet that Burrows will be worth 4+ million for his 32 year old and 33 year old seasons, but after that: it gets dicey.
But maybe it’s not just term that is at issue here. Because Corbeil, while speaking with Botch, also dropped this atom bomb:
“If you’re looking for a comparable, it’s Patrick Sharp,” Corbeil said.
I personally think that Alex Burrows is a very good top-six forward. He’s a quality defensive player, and he’s got that Lucky Luc/Tomas Holmstrom dirty goal gene, which has made him preposterously valuable to the Canucks during his Vancouver tenure. But if he’s really looking for Patrick Sharp money, and a five year deal, then it doesn’t really matter what happens with Shane Doan this afternoon: Alex Burrows is on his way out.
Which is fair enough, really. Burrows had to crawl through more shit than Tim Robbins in Shawshank to even get to the NHL in the first place, and once he became an established star, he was one of the most underpaid player in the NHL. Burrows deserves his big payday; he just probably won’t get it from the Canucks.
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