It's been a bit weird to see such a storied franchise in the Chicago Blackhawks be out of relevance in the NHL for so long, but they are doing everything they can to get back in the picture. The Blackhawks have a promising young core centered around star forward Connor Bedard, but they needed some veteran leadership to come in and help bring the youngsters along.

They accomplished just that recently when they flipped a trade for Seattle Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky. Burakovsky is a bit of a journeyman at this point in his career and will be on his fourth team when he takes the ice for Chicago, but he is the type of quality contributor that all teams can use in the lineup.

While Burakovsky may not be coming to Chicago to be a star, he is ready to play his role and help the young guys in Chicago get better and better as the Blackhawks look to make a push toward the playoffs in 2026, via Tracey Myers of NHL.com.

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“I think I'm going to fit in right where I can help them to be better and to create more opportunities for them, set up some plays,” Burakovsky said. “Just doing my thing to try and help them out and become better and help the team be better. There's a lot of talent, a lot of really good players on the team that are young who can really take the next step, and we can become a contender here.”

Burakovsky started his career in Washington before spacing a couple of years with the Colorado Avalanche. He had the best season of his career in 2021-22, when he scored 61 points and helped lead the Avs to the Stanley Cup. Following that season, he departed for Seattle and has not quite been able to find his game since.

The 30-year old struggled with injuries during his first two seasons in Seattle before notching 37 points in 79 games in 2024-25. While that isn't massive production, a player like that will do wonders for the Blackhawks if he can stay on the ice for a majority of the 2025-26 season.