Alexandre Ménard-Burrows (born April 11, 1981) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is currently working as a player development consultant for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing as a left winger, he spent the majority of his career in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks and was known as an agitator, before developing into a skilled, top line fixture. Burrows is also regarded for his remarkable ascension to the NHL from being an undrafted player in the ECHL.
Before making it to the NHL, Burrows also enjoyed a prolific ball hockey career, competing in national and international tournaments in the summers. In 2005, he was named the International Ball Hockey Player of the Year. He has also been inducted into the Canadian and International Ball Hockey Hall of Fame.
Playing career
Junior and minor leagues As a youth, Burrows played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from La Presqu'île, near Montreal.
Burrows played two seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Shawinigan Cataractes, beginning in 2000–01. He recorded 16 goals and 30 points over 63 regular season games, then added three points over 10 post-season games. The following season, he improved to 35 goals and 70 points over 64 games, third in team-scoring, behind Jonathan Bellemare and Jason Pominville. He went on to lead his team in post-season scoring with nine goals and 21 points in 12 games as the Cataractes advanced to the Conference Finals, where they were eliminated in seven games by the Victoriaville Tigres.
Undrafted by a National Hockey League (NHL) club, Burrows went professional in 2002–03 with the Greenville Grrrowl of the ECHL, a third-tier minor league. Late in his professional rookie season, he transferred to the Baton Rouge Kingfish and finished with a combined 32 points in 66 games between the two teams. The following season, in 2003–04, he returned to the South Division, as he was signed by the Columbia Inferno. Early in the season, he was signed by Columbia's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, on October 21, 2003, having been scouted by Moose general manager Craig Heisinger. He appeared in two AHL games for Manitoba before being sent back down to the ECHL. Shortly after his return, he was suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount by the league for abusing officials during a game on October 24 against the Greensboro Generals. Later on in the season, he was named to the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference and recorded one assist. He went on to finish the season with 29 goals and 73 points, second in points among Columbia players to league-scoring champion Tim Smith.
In the subsequent off-season, Burrows was re-signed by the Moose on August 3, 2004. He was initially sent back down to the ECHL after a training camp both he and head coach Randy Carlyle described as disappointing. Following an injury to Wade Brookbank, he was recalled on October 29, 2004. He scored his first AHL goal with the Moose five days later, a game-winning goal against goaltender David LeNeveu of the Utah Grizzlies in a 2–1 win. He finished the 2004–05 season with Manitoba and posted 26 points over 72 games in a fourth-line role.
Professional (2005–2018) Vancouver Canucks (2005–2017) Having worked his way up from the ECHL, Burrows' energetic play in the minors earned him a two-way contract with the Moose's NHL affiliate, the Vancouver Canucks, on November 8, 2005. He had appeared earlier in the Canucks' training camp for the 2005–06 season, but was sent back to the Moose. After recording 30 points in 33 games with the Moose, he was recalled by the Canucks on January 2, 2006 and made his NHL debut that day against the St. Louis Blues. Eight days later, Burrows scored his first career NHL goal against Ed Belfour of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also added an assist as the Canucks won the game 4–3. Establishing himself on the Canucks roster, he added his first NHL career hat-trick on March 27, 2006, in a 7–4 win against the Los Angeles Kings. He finished with seven goals and 12 points over 43 games in his NHL rookie campaign. Burrows' ascension to the NHL has been attributed to his hard-working and abrasive style of play, generating momentum for his team and aggravating opposing players.
Burrows completed his first full campaign and second altogether with the Canucks the following season in 2006–07. He contributed primarily on the team's penalty kill, which ranked first in the league. Burrows' average shorthanded ice time per game was second among team forwards, behind Ryan Kesler. He struggled to produce offensively, however, and recorded a career-low three goals and nine points in 81 games.
In 2007–08, Burrows formed an effective duo with centre Ryan Kesler on the third line as defensive forwards, countering opposing teams' top players while contributing offensively, as well. During the season, he was fined an undisclosed amount by the league after spearing Detroit Red Wings forward Aaron Downey at centre ice during the two teams' pre-game skate on February 23, 2008. He finished the campaign with 12 goals, 31 points and a team-high plus-minus of +11 in all 82 games as the Canucks narrowly missed the playoffs as they missed the 2008 playoffs by three points. He was voted by Canucks' fans to receive the team's Most Exciting Player Award and the Fred J. Hume Award, given to the team's "unsung hero" as voted by the Canucks Booster Club.
After remaining on the third line with Kesler at the start of the 2008–09 season, Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault separated the two after the All-Star break, placing Burrows on the first line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin, beginning on February 12, 2009, during a game against the Phoenix Coyotes. Burrows' crash-the-net style—skating hard to the opposing team's goalmouth for rebounds or tip-ins—combined well with the Sedins' cycling plays and as time went on, he would be labeled as the "third Sedin" as a result of the instant chemistry between Burrows and the two Sedin brothers. Vigneault's line adjustments were precipitated by a losing streak in January, which Burrows was instrumental in breaking. The Canucks' home winless streak had extended to eight games, a franchise record, when Burrows broke a 3–3 tie with a shorthanded breakaway goal with 82 seconds remaining in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes. This sparked a resurgence in the Canucks, spearheaded by Burrows, who then immediately followed their record setting home losing streak with a record setting home winning streak, winning their next 10 games at home. Shortly thereafter, the Canucks extended his contract with a four-year, $8 million deal on February 4, 2009, quadrupling his $525,000 salary. Following a game against the Edmonton Oilers on April 4, Burrows received a $2,500 fine from the league for punching Oilers winger and enforcer Zach Stortini from the bench. Late in the campaign, he was selected by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association as the Canucks' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded for perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship. Burrows was not shortlisted to the final three for the award, however. Prior to the last game of the season, he received his second consecutive Most Exciting Player Award. Playing in a more offensive role on the first line for the latter part of the season, Burrows finished his breakout season with 51 points (28 goals, 31 assists) in all 82 games as the Canucks as a team had a bounce-back season having returned to the playoffs and finishing as the third seed in the West. His 28 goals broke Andrew Brunette's mark for the most in a single season by an ECHL alumnus (27 in 2006–07). In the subsequent first round of the 2009 playoffs, Burrows scored the series-winning goal in overtime in game four to sweep the sixth-seeded St. Louis Blues. It was his second goal of the game as he scored a goal earlier in that game, which occurred in the second period. The Canucks advanced to meet the fourth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the second round, who defeated them in six games. Burrows' level of play was noticeably diminished in the Chicago series and it was revealed afterwards that he required surgery to remove bone chips in his left wrist. He finished the playoffs with three goals and an assist over 10 games.