Brent Burns is one of the best active players to never win a Stanley Cup after a long career with the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Colorado Avalanche. The 40-year-old is best known for his Sharks career, where he was a three-time Norris Trophy finalist, winning the award once in 2016-17. The one award Burns is left to win is the Stanley Cup, which is why he is chasing it this season after signing with the Avalanche.
Burns is chasing his first championship, but he is also nearing the NHL's Iron Man record, which Phil Kessel currently holds at 1064 games. Burns would need to stay healthy for another 137 games to take hold of the record. Nevertheless, the defenseman will add another accolade on Saturday night as he plays in his 1500th game. Burns took the time to share some thoughts about becoming the 23rd skater in history to eclipse the mark.
“It's probably like raising kids a little bit. They say like every day feels like it's 10 years, but 10 years goes in the blink of an eye too,” the defenseman said Friday. “I definitely feel like I just started, but also at the same time, it's been a long grind too.”
Burns hasn't revealed if he'll return for a 22nd season in 2026-27. It likely depends on whether the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup this season, as that would be the ideal ending to a phenomenal career. The closest the defenseman has come was in the 2016 playoffs when the Sharks lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the finals.
It's a storybook ending that is almost too good to be true. Fellow 1500-game man Ray Bourque chased the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2001 and retired after lifting the Stanley Cup over his head in his final game. Brent Burns has the chance to follow in the legend's footsteps and cement his place as one of the game's greatest defensemen.
