With the NHL Draft just a week away, rumors will continue to swirl around the Blackhawks, as they have the draft capital and cap space to make a big splash. However, today the Blackhawks made a significant move, as Kyle Davidson made his first trade of the summer.
According to the Chicago Blackhawks, they have traded forward Joe Veleno to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for forward Andre Burakovsky. This comes after acquiring Joe Veleno at the trade deadline, as they sent goalie Petr Mrazek and forward Craig Smith to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Veleno.
Veleno had a nice bounce back with the Blackhawks last year, as after 10 points in 56 games with the Red Wings, Veleno had 7 points in 18 games for the Hawks. While the former first round pick wasn't an all-star after the trade, he put up some solid numbers and was under contract at 2.5 million for this season.
Burakovsky on the other hand is a much more accomplished first round pick, as he had 37 points in 79 games for the Seattle Kraken last season. Burakovsky also has a ton of playoff experience, as he has won two Stanley Cups, one with the Washington Capitals, and the other with the Colorado Avalanche.
On this day in 2022 Andre Burakovsky scored the most important goal in his entire career.pic.twitter.com/ccthPZzieJ
— Avalanche Forever (@citchmook) June 16, 2025
Burakovsky was the most productive with the Colorado Avalanche, as he had 150 points in 191 games with them over three seasons. His most productive year was in 2021-2022, where he had 61 points in 81 games. However, since signing a five year, 5.5 million dollar cap hit with the Kraken, Burakovsky's has had an up and down tenure, as he has played less than 50 games two out of the three seasons.
In his first season with the Kraken, Burakovsky was the most successful, as he had 39 points in 49 games. He followed that up with just 16 points in 49 games in 2023-2024, and 37 points in 79 games last season.
WELCOME BACK ANDRE BURAKOVSKY pic.twitter.com/b5wchgChQq
— ROOT SPORTS™ | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) January 5, 2024
Now 30 years old, Burakovsky is five years older and a few million more expensive than Joe Veleno, but he has been much more successful NHL player to this point, giving the Blackhawks another player that has the potential for 45+ points.
Andre Burakovsky, signed 5x$5.5M by SEA, is an extremely efficient sniper whose production in 3rd line minutes with the Avs has been consistently impressive. Exactly the kind of player Seattle needs, but also the kind that could get wrecked by Hakstol's system. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/vBtOel7gKv
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 13, 2022
While it is unclear what line Burakovsky will play on, if he is paired with one of the better forwards on the Hawks, like Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, or Ryan Donato, he has the potential for a bounce back season and could be a nice addition to the Blackhawks forward group.
Burakovsky is under contract for this season and the following at a cap hit of 5.5 million. The Blackhawks have a ton of cap space as it continues to rise, so this could be a nice deal for the Hawks. If some of the younger forwards progress quicker than expected, Burakovsky could be a trade target for competing teams at the deadline.
