The Chicago Blackhawks announced that the team has acquired forward Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for forward Joe Veleno. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Blackhawks)
With the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft mere days away, the Chicago Blackhawks announced this morning they have acquired forward Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for forward Joe Veleno.
The 30-year old, 6-foot-3, 203-pound Burkovsky was originally selected by Washington in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft and will make $5.5 million for the next two seasons. He had 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 79 games with Seattle in 2024–25.
The native of Klagenfurt, Austria, has appeared in 696 career regular season NHL games, over 11 seasons with the Capitals, Colorado Avalanche and Kraken. Over his career, he has won the Stanley Cup twice with Washington (2018) and Colorado (2022) in eight trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In international play, Burakovsky has helped lead Sweden to silver medals at the 2012 World U18 Championship and the 2014 World Junior Championship.

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About Jeff Osborn
Jeff has covered the Blackhawks since 2009 with his former website www.puckinhostile.com and podcast The Puckin Hostile Shoutcast until 2017, when he moved over to The Rink.
After a short hiatus to cover the inaugural Seattle Kraken season, he came back to Blackhawks coverage and started “The Net Perspective” podcast to discuss goaltending and goaltender development.