Report: Alex Burrows unlikely to play Saturday vs. Maple Leafs

Photo Credit: Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports

It would seem that Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows needed more than a maintenance day. 

Burrows, 33, is unlikely to play on Saturday when the Canucks host the moribund Toronto Maple Leafs as a result of an undisclosed injury, according to TSN’s Jeff Paterson. The fear now is that Burrows has reaggravated the lower-body injury that caused him to miss six games earlier this month. 

The precise nature of Burrows’ lower-body injury is unknown, though general manager Jim Benning revealed that the club shutdown the ace two-way winger for a couple of weeks as a precautionary measure.

“He’s got an injury where we think it’s going to be precautionary, we don’t want it to get any worse,” Benning said during an appearance on TSN 1040 in late February.
“So with him it’s day-to-day, and I think by missing a few games now, it’ll help him not miss two weeks of time.”

The only other piece of evidence we have is this clip of video before Burrows was a late scratch against the New Jersey Devils back on Feb. 20. The veteran winger points to his groin during a discussion with team doctors, before leaving the ice and then missing over two weeks of action.

We’ll have to wait on the Canucks to update Burrows’ status, but he’s a critical piece for this club. Of the 11 skaters that Burrows has spent at least 100 5-on-5 minutes playing with this season, all 11 have done better by shot attempt differential playing with Burrows, than they’ve played without him. 

The bluechip aggravator can basically stabilize any line he plays with from a possession standpoint, an invaluable skill for a mediocre puck possession team like the Canucks and a very rare ability for a winger. 

The Canucks will have to hope that Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs is a one-off, and not the beginning of an extended absence for Burrows. Meanwhile Canucks fans will miss out on getting to watch Burrows take on the Maple Leafs, a club he’s traditional excelled against – both in terms of scoring big goals that cause Brian Burke to dismantle the club, and in terms of trolling.