Burmistrov will wait and see on return to Jets
/Winnipeg Jets forward Alexander Burmistrov left the team last summer as a restricted free agent, opting to sign a two-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.
At the time, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said, "Through our conversations and correspondence with Alex and his agent, it became apparent Alex had a desire to continue his development as a young player in the KHL. He remains a very talented player within the Jets organization and we will continue to monitor his progress and development going forward."
Burmistrov posted 10-27-37 in 54 starts for Ak Bars this season and when he parted ways with the Jets, Burmistrov's agent had commented that the relationship between the player and then-coach Claude Noel was part of the reason for Burmistrov leaving for the KHL.
The agent also said at the time that Burmistrov would certainly consider coming back to the NHL at some point.
Friday, Burmistrov dropped this tidbit.
Paul Maurice, obviously, is now the head coach for the Winnipeg Jets for the foreseeable future and aside from the simple fact that he's not Noel, with whom Burmistrov apparently didn't feel he was getting a fair shake, Maurice's experience coaching in Russia could be a huge plus in the Jets' efforts to get the young forward back.
"Probably the biggest thing I walked away with is a blanket apology to every Russian player I ever coached," Maurice recently said, via The Winnipeg Free Press. "When they come to Canada and play the way they do, there's a reason for it. Things sometimes get said about them, like they're not tough, but I can tell you there are tough players over there. They just play the game so differently.
"We expect them to make adjustments in a couple of weeks when they get here... you want them to tip the puck in and chase it, and you want them to do this and go there, and then you think they don't want to play your game. It's not like that at all, and you'd have to be there to see where they come from... the culture and the hockey. So a blanket apology... I have a better understanding of their world, how they train, how they play, and why they play the way they do."