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Caps send Burakovsky to Avs for player, 2 picks

The Washington Capitals have traded forward Andre Burakovsky to the Colorado Avalanche for pending unrestricted free-agent forward Scott Kosmachuk and a second- and third-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft, the team announced Friday.

Burakovsky is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1. Earlier this week, the Caps made him a qualifying offer.

Burakovsky, 24, signed a two-year, $6 million contract in July 2017.

He recorded 25 points (12 goals) in 76 games with the Capitals last season. In 328 games with the Caps since he was their first-round draft pick in 2013, Burakovsky has recorded 145 points (62 goals).

Burakovsky had been the subject of trade rumors earlier in the season due to his promising but inconsistent play.

"We like the player," Washington general manager Brian MacLellan said last week. "There's been some inconsistencies there, but when he's on his game, he's a good player. We'd like to keep him around, but obviously his name is out there a little bit, so we do talk to some teams about him. But we're not going to move him unless we get something we're comfortable with back."

The Capitals and Avalanche are familiar trade partners. In recent years, the Caps have sent defenseman Brooks Orpik and goaltenders Philipp Grubauer and Semyon Varlamov to Colorado.