Coyotes claim Jets forward Alexander Burmistrov off waivers

Alexander Burmistrov’s reunion with the franchise that drafted him ended on Monday.

The Arizona Coyotes picked up the Jets winger on Monday off waivers, less than a day after Winnipeg dropped their former first-round pick onto the wire. Burmistrov joins a growing list of discarded players the Coyotes have snatched up over the last few months.

Burmistrov’s salary cap hit of $1.5 million comes off the table for Winnipeg. The Jets now have north of $12 million in cap room to work with this season. The Coyotes are now kind of over the salary cap limit, but that shouldn’t be an issue going forward due to long-term injured reserve exceptions. It’s complicated.

The Jets selected Burmistrov with the eighth overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft, when they were still the Atlanta Thrashers. The team rushed Burmistrov, an 18-year-old, into NHL ice time and he failed to produce. Jets fans now look at that decision as a mistake.

After two seasons of jumping from the NHL to the AHL, Burmistrov left the franchise for the KHL for two seasons. He returned last year and put up only 21 points in 81 games. This year, the 25-year-old Burmistrov has just two assists in 23 games, forcing the Jets to finally cut ties.

Burmistrov is the latest pickup by the Coyotes of a player no longer wanted by their NHL team. Since GM John Chayka took over in the summer, Arizona has acquired Lawson Crouse from the Panthers, Anthony DeAngelo from the Lightning, and Peter Holland from the Maple Leafs as they rebuild.