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Agent: Alex Burmistrov isn’t going back to Russia

Alex Burmistrov, Milsn Jurcina

Winnipeg Jets center Alex Burmistrov (8) goes on the offense as New York Islanders defenseman Milan Jurcina (27) follows in the first period of their NHL hockey game at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

AP

Yesterday we told you of a report saying Winnipeg forward Alex Burmistrov was being courted to play in the KHL in spite of having a current contract with the Jets. Burmistrov’s agent would like you to know that his client isn’t going anywhere.

Agent Mark Gandler tells Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun Burmistrov’s deal with the Jets will make sure that he stays in North America and there’s no getting around that.

“Nobody talked to me,” Mark Gandler said, Monday afternoon. “The guy is under contract. End of discussion.”

Asked about the report, Gandler was blunt.

“If people in Edmonton want to print gossip from the Russian papers without checking sources ... all it takes is two minutes to make a phone call,” he said. “They obviously didn’t do their homework.”

Uh, ouch.

Burmistrov has had his ups and downs since coming to the NHL. His first season in Atlanta and this past year in Winnipeg have seen him fight for ice time and deal with being a healthy scratch at times. Burmistrov is quite talented but with how he was put in the NHL immediately after being drafted, you’re left to wonder if he was rushed to action.

If there’s a far away place Burmistrov could wind up next season, Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press says it could be in the AHL with St. John’s.