Thought #5: Alex Burrows is Underestimated
Alex Burrows, please let us keep you around. You mean something special to all the Canucks fans, for the life-long Canuck commitment, for the dragon slaying goal, and the personality you bring to the team. The Canucks have the cap space to buy you out of bury you alongside Higgins in the AHL. Please make us want to keep you around.
Well, Vancouver. He’s done his share. We just aren’t noticing.
Alex Burrows has 21 points in 71 games this season. That is five more than Jared McCann’s total, eight more than Jake Virtanen‘s total, and nine more than Derek Dorsett‘s total.
Related: Rising Salary Cap Does Not Help Much
Fine, let not the simple stats dictate the argument. How about that Burrows is 10th on the team in Fenwick For percentage, the stat that takes into account shots on goal and missed shots. Burrows is a +0.6 Fenwick player. Just for comparison, Sven Baertschi is 20th at -1.1.
Sure, $4.5 million is a lot for a 20-point fringe player that Burrows has become at age 34. But if we can make the argument that the Canucks can eat up salary in a trade or take on the buyout penalty, can we not also make the case that the Canucks have enough salary to keep him around?
So, in the remaining 14 days of the season, my hope is that Alex Burrows feels and plays the urgency that he talked about last week when he said that the younger core is taking over the roster and there might not be a spot left for him. As the mental foundation for the team, Burrows needs to show that and stay to see out his contract in Vancouver, perhaps a retirement in Vancouver.
Next: Thought #6: How Much More can Veterans Endure