The Washington Capitals re-signed forward Andre Burakovsky to a two-year contract worth $6 million, the club announced Tuesday.
The contract comes with an annual average value of $3 million, leaving the Capitals with a projected $5.59 million in cap space for the 2017-18 season with 16 players under contract, according to CapFriendly.
Burakovsky is coming off his third NHL season, one in which he scored 12 goals and finished with 35 points in 64 games. His average ice time of 13:16 per game was his highest of the three years. His TOI increased to 14:20 per night over the Capitals' 13 postseason games, allowing Burakovsky to score three goals and add three assists with a plus-5 rating.
Burakovsky's 1.73 shots on goal per game in 2016-17 was his highest average of his three-year career, though his shooting percentage of 10.8 was his lowest.
The Capitals' losses of forwards Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson this summer have created two holes on the second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov. Burakovsky mostly spent last season in a third-line role, playing alongside Lars Eller and Brett Connolly. He'll now have the opportunity to move into a more offensive role.
He'll also be among the first to be given a chance to operate on the top power play, as forwards Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and T.J. Oshie are the only returning members of the five-man unit.
The Capitals have plenty of work left this season with very little cap room available. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is their one remaining restricted free agent. They have just 10 forwards, five defensemen, and one goaltender currently signed for 2017-18.