Alex Burmistrov Calls Time On NHL Career After Canucks Release

Alex Burmistrov has officially asked to be released from his contract with the Vancouver Canucks. This is just a day after day he was scratched in favor of a seventh defenceman – though his agent, Dan Milstein, says that is just a coincidence.

Burmistrov signed a one-year contract with the Canucks for $900,000 after he was let go by Arizona Coyotes. Since he signed up, he has been on the rink 24 times and managed to score two goals. However of late, he has been seeing less play time and he has been chafing to get more time on the ice. Milstein denies that this is the reason that is behind Burmistrov's request for release and says that this release has been in negotiation for nearly a month.

In a tweet on Sunday, Milstein announced that Burmistrov would be retiring from the NHL. The Canucks management later released a statement clarifying that he was only asking to be released from his contract.

Alexander Burmistrov of Vancouver Canucks has retired from the NHL. Announcement on future will follow in the coming days.

— Dan Milstein-Hockey (@HockeyAgent1) December 24, 2017

Burmistrov has had a pretty solid career so far. Besides the Canucks and the Coyotes, he has also played for the Winnipeg Jets and the Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL. He has also played two seasons for the Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL. He was first drafted in 2010 and has gone on to play in 348 NHL games and scored 37 goals in total. Burmistrov was already showing signs of dissatisfaction early this year.

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In an interview with Ben Kuzma from Postmedia, he complained about not knowing exactly what his role in the team was. He felt frustrated that every time the team had a game, he didn't know if he would be getting a chance to play.

In a statement, Jim Benning, GM for the Canucks said

Alex made the decision to be released from his contract today in order to pursue a playing opportunity outside of the NHL. We are supportive of his decision and wish the best for Alex

The Canucks traded out Nic Dowd recently and were also without the services of Bo Horvat who got injured. Despite these player losses, Burmistrov was still unable to get any solid play time. Thomas Vanek spoke out recently to defend his teammate, citing that the Russian center was a solid player and worked hard during training to contribute to the team.

Burmistrov's situation after his contract release is a bit vague. He has stated that he is thankful to the Canucks for the opportunities they gave him, but it was time for him to go home. No Russian teams have officially signed him up yet, but his agent says that there will be a further announcement in the coming days.