Elliotte Friedman dropped a bombshell in the second intermission of the Canucks matinee matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs, revealing that the Canucks would consider moving Alex Burrows at the trade deadline if they are in fact sellers. Going a step further, Friedman confirmed that Burrows would be willing to waive his contract, which is saddled with a full no-trade clause. 

News of Burrows willingness to move is surprising on a number of levels. Burrows has played the entirety of his NHL career with the Canucks and has become somewhat of a folk hero in town. Thought his attachment to this city would be, for lack of a better word, stern. There’s also the matter of Burrows contract, which goes into next season. Generally, trade deadline deals involve rental players that aren’t expected to last with their new franchise longer than a few months.

Then again, a change of scenery is probably the best case scenario for everyone involved. Burrows’ usefulness has atrophied, to the point where I’d say he’s no better than a third-line player. The Canucks have more than their fair share of middling forwards and creating opportunities for players who will be able to contribute to the long-term health of this franchise makes sense for a number of reasons. 

The biggest hurdle will be convincing a contending side that Burrows and his $4.5-million AAV for this season and next are worth the investment. For salary cap teams, this might involve eating some salary – a move the Canucks could accommodate, as they’ve still two retained salary transactions available to them. Burrows might be more appealing to a budget team though, due to his back-diving contract which has an actual dollar value of just $3-million going into next season. 

Burrows is a player who’s given his all to this city and franchise. Even dollars and cents. It’s a shame to see age take its toll on Burrows with such rapidity, but such is life in the hoceky world. Contending teams could do a lot worse than Burrows on their third line though and it sure would be great to see him get another kick at the can.

Whether that’s in Vancouver at the end of his career or any other number of franchises remains to be seen.