Ottawa Senators Place Alex Burrows on Waivers
With the intention of buying him out
After the surprising decision to not qualify Freddy Claesson yesterday, the Sens have switched gears today to good hockey decisions. Dorion favourite Alexandre Burrows has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Alexandre Burrows worked his way to the Vancouver Canucks in 2005 after earning his spot through working hard in ECHL and AHL. He was a fan favourite in Vancouver for his energetic style and his ability to enrage and frustrate every opponent he faced. While always on the pesky side, Burrows was also a serviceable member of the Canucks with not only an ‘on edge” style but also the ability to score some goals. His biggest goal came in 2011 in Game 7 OT against the Chicago Blackhawks where he capitalized on a Chris Campoli giveaway to give the Canucks a much coveted series win against their worst nightmare team.
In 2017, the Sens hoping to go far in the playoffs and with the skewed assumption that Burrows is what they need to go deep decided to send one of our top prospects, Jonathan Dahlen, to the Canucks for a 35 year old Alexandre Burrows. Not only was the trade immediately a lost one, Dorion proceeded by giving Burrows a 2-year extension that made absolutely no sense. Dorion praised himself for the trade mentioning he was getting high fives all around for acquiring Burrows. In all fairness, Burrows did start things off great in Ottawa scoring 2 goals in a 2-1 victory against the Avalanche in his first game. Since then, Burrows has played 106 games (including the playoffs) for the Sens scoring a total of 30 points. In the 2017 playoff run, he had decent contributions but nothing that stands out with his 5 points. He did get injured in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins but I don’t think he would have necessarily changed the outcome of that series even if healthy. Some say his biggest contribution to the Sens this season was the 10-game suspension he got for kneeing the Devil’s Taylor Hall where he was also put on waivers by the Sens but went on without anyone claiming him. While most Sens fans have been harsh on Burrows, nobody can argue that the Sens got anything near the value they should have gotten considering who they gave up. This is a step in the right direction, with all the prospects wanting to get a spot in Ottawa next season, Dorion will definitely have no issue finding an upgrade on Burrows in Ottawa. It’s also worth mentioning that this move can be viewed as more of a hockey improvement move over a financial savings decision as it only provides a minor reduction in actual team expenses once his roster spot is filled and no cap relief benefit as Burrows is on a 35+ contract. Good luck Alex and thank you for your services.
