Brent Burns Brings More Than Just Experience, Skill to Avalanche

Leadership? Check.

Twenty-plus minutes per night and a power play and penalty kill option? Check.

Regularly gives you 82 games a season? Check.

Infectious personality and locker room presence? Check.

Love for the game and a hunger to win the Stanley Cup? Check.

These are all things that individually make up what Brent Burns has been for his entire career, and what he’ll bring to the Avalanche. But somehow, the whole package is still greater than the sum of all of these parts.

“He’s a magnetic personality,” head coach Jared Bednar said of Burns.

“He’s a great storyteller,” Nathan MacKinnon added.

“He’s 40 now, but he acts like he’s 20,” Martin Necas said, reuniting with Burns after two years together in Carolina.

It already feels like everybody loves what the 22-year NHL veteran will bring to the team after signing a one-year bonus-laden contract in July.

Burns started his career before the 2005 lockout. His third NHL point came in 2003 in a game against Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne, and the rest of the Colorado Avalanche. That’s how long he’s been around.

And he’s done it with relatively great health.

“He’s a guy that’s obviously played a long time and played a lot of games and stayed very healthy throughout his career,” Devon Toews said.

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Burns is chasing a Stanley Cup. But he’s not like other veterans nearing the end of their career — especially the ones the Avs have had in recent years.

When Zach Parise arrived in 2024, he was a depth player, nowhere near the 90+ point guy he was in his prime.

Jack Johnson was a notable contributor to the 2022 Stanley Cup championship team, but he wasn’t the Olympic-level defenseman from a decade prior.

Burns has taken a step back from his prime. But last season, he was still a top pair defenseman and the No. 1 option to quarterback the power play of the Eastern Conference Final Carolina Hurricanes.

He’s not just here for vibes. He’s here to be a contributor.

But it’s hard to ignore the personality part of it all. The Avs have struggled without their captain Gabe Landeskog’s presence for years. They finally have Landeskog back full-time, but they also have Burns. Those are two amplified voices that are going to elevate the room when it’s needed.

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The on-ice numbers might be the most important. But the off-ice contributions don’t go unnoticed. Coaches love having those type of guys on the team. They are a necessity.

“I walk into the practice facility in the summertime, he’s already there. His family’s already settled,” Bednar said. “There’s five, six guys talking to him over by the coffee machine. Half an hour later I go in, he’s talking with five or six other guys holding court over by the squat rack. And then 20 minutes later I walk by, he’s talking to another five, six guys in the hallway, and they’re all laughing. So I love the personality that he brings to our team, the leadership. He’s been around. He’s hungry to win.

“And on top of that, he plays every night, plays a lot of minutes every night. He’s really good in a bunch of different areas, Five-on-five, penalty kill guy, another big body, strong guy that clears the front of the net well, and obviously really good on the power play as well.”

The Avs are going to use Burns in all of those areas. He’ll be one of three solid options on the right side, along with Cale Makar and Josh Manson (Sam Malinski is shifting to the left).

He’ll also be a key piece on the penalty kill, and it will be fun to see what the power play looks like with Dave Hakstol at the helm. I doubt he’ll unseat Makar on the No. 1 unit, but what if he leads the charge for a second unit that can be stacked with more talent than in years past? What if Hakstol gives that unit more time?

The options are endless.

Burns has fun stories. MacKinnon referenced that.

“We hear about his ranch and all his different animals. It’s crazy. His lifestyle’s a little different than mine,” he joked.

But he’s also here to win. In Colorado, he’ll get that chance. Perhaps better than the opportunities he had on both a Cup-contending Hurricanes team and during his prime in San Jose.

“He fits in here. He’s a guy we needed,” Necas said.