Alexander Burmistrov hopes for 2015-16 return to Winnipeg Jets

Alexander Burmistrov hasn’t played in the NHL since he left for the KHL after the 2012-13 season, but that could all change after this upcoming year, in which he’ll once again play for Ak Bars of the KHL. Igor Eronko out of Latvia reports that Burmistrov plans to return to the NHL for the 2015-16 and resume his career with the Winnipeg Jets.

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It could be big news for the offense-starved Winnipeg Jets, who appear to be a bottom-dweller squad in the brutal Western Conference entering this season. The team did very little to improve on a season in which they finished with the fourth-worst record in their conference. They have been drafting young, promising players, but those rewards are years away. For now, Winnipeg looks like a team prepared to settle in, take its lumps, and hopefully get a good shot in the Connor McDavid Lottery.

If the team does get McDavid or Jack Eichel or any number of top prospects at the head of the 2015 NHL draft, the team could count on not only that young dynamo possibly making the roster, but also Burmistrov, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft. Burmistrov famously clashed with the previous coach of the Jets, Claude Noel, and that was cited as part of the reason he returned to the KHL.

Now under Paul Maurice, Burmistrov could have a chance to rejuvenate his career and in turn rejuvenate a Winnipeg fan base starved for some playoff hockey.