The Canucks season has mercifully come to an end with the local team winning a game that meant nothing in the standings, over the Edmonton Oilers. Although it meant nothing in regards to the draft position, there was still a very emotional aspect of Saturday’s game that gave some meaning, and that was Alexandre Burrows.

Over the last couple of weeks, there has been increasing thought that Saturday night was Burrows last game in a Canucks jersey. For a team looking to get younger and faster, a 34 year old player making $4.5 million doesn’t seem to fit into the plans anymore.

If you are looking at the Burrows situation strictly at the thought process of ‘we need to get younger and make room for those kids’, then yes, Burrows is someone that the Canucks should look at moving on from. Whether that be through a trade or buyout. 

Canucks Army is regularly regarded as the stats blog, that will use numbers to create conversation and look at things differently, and to be fair, the numbers don’t look fondly on Burrows. He struggled at times to push play, which is evidenced by posting a CF of 48.1%, and had obviously lost a step in his foot speed. His 0.28 PPG is the lowest since his first full season in the NHL in 2007-08, and excluding his injury-shortened season of 2013-14, his lowest goal total since that same rookie season.

So with that, his $4.5 million cap hit feels like a burden on the Canucks right now. But, looking at it from the other side, he is really just getting ‘back-paid’ for the years of being grossly underpaid.

From the emotional side, the thought of the Pincourt native no longer being a part of the Vancouver Canucks is saddening. As someone who has regularly watched the Canucks for 25 years, there isn’t a player liked more than Burrows. He is someone who worked extremely hard to work his way up from the ECHL, to the AHL, and finally to the NHL. It’s hard not to root for someone like that. Along the way, he scored some memorable goals, including the ‘Slaying of the Dragon’:

I still get goosebumps watching that goal.

He was a key cog in the wheel of the 2011 Stanley Cup run and has been a part of the Canucks organization for 13 years.

What compelled me to ponder this about Burrows was that we don’t actually know for sure if Burrows will be back and I think that is the part that’s the difficult part to grasp. If everyone knew that Saturday’s contest against Edmonton was Burrows last game, he would’ve received the send-off he deserves. He did receive some recognition, particularly during the shootout and post game but not the level that could’ve been expected if everyone knew he was done. 

He could be back, he probably won’t be.

I wrote a few weeks ago that the Canucks are a little crowded in the forward ranks, and at the time, I even suggested that Burrows was a maybe for coming back. Even with the plethora of forwards, I suggested that they keep him. 

If the Canucks do feel that they need to move on from Burrows, then that is understandable but I hope it’s through a trade to a possible cup contender rather than buying him out. Burrows has one year left on his contract with the aforementioned cap hit of $4.5 million. At this moment, with Burrows included, the Canucks have roughly $58.0 million committed next season. The only pending RFA that the Canucks have that will need a sizeable raise will be Sven Baertschi, the others will see minor raises.

So moving Burrows would create some cap space to help improve this roster. 

However if they assign McCann to the AHL, and/or have Biega start the season in the AHL, then there is a fraction of more cap space taken up by the players that are looking for new deals.

Hopefully, they will do everything in their power, including retain as much salary as possible, to move Burrows to a cup contender rather than buying him out. The benefit of opening up the cap space through buying out Burrows doesn’t include the drawbacks of losing a veteran leader and fan favourite, who has meant so much to this team. 

If unable to find a trade partner, what is the harm in keeping Burrows next season as a 12th/13th forward?

He would be able to still help the penalty kill, while providing the veteran leadership that Canucks management routinely express a deserve in having. Injuries will happen. So if the concern is blocking spots for the young players, it’s only a matter of time before those spots would be open again. 

Worst case scenario, is that Burrows doesn’t play well and he just rides out his contract but at the very least, fans would know that it is his last season. Alternatively, he could play well enough that a team looking for a veteran depth player for a playoff run would give up a late pick for him at the next trade deadline.

Normally, I would suggest not using your emotions to dictate hockey decisions but in this case, they should. Burrows has given everything to the organization, so buying him out for the sake of creating cap space and opening another roster spot seems misguided here.

It’s obvious that given the Canucks finished with the third-worst record in the NHL, changes needed to be made. Thus because of Burrows diminishing play and high salary, moving him seems like the easiest and most logical option. Hopefully, the path of buying him out just for that reason isn’t what happens.

It can be hard to be a fan sometimes, because your emotional attachment to a player can fog your perception of their impact to the team. In this case, given that the Canucks will not be world beaters next season, there really isn’t any harm in keeping Burrows around. It may actually be a benefit in the locker room and they wouldn’t be able to as frivolously spend in the inflated UFA market with eyes on making the playoffs next April.

With all that being said, if this was Burrows last game as a Canuck, I wish nothing but the best in the future. He will be leaving us with the perfect sendoff with his Luc Bourdon ‘bow and arrow’ celebration.