Aarif Deen
Brent Burns is extending his NHL career to 23 seasons and will return to the Colorado Avalanche for the second straight year. The team announced on Friday that Burns signed a one-year deal. He’ll make $850,000 in base salary and could earn around $3 million when accounting for bonuses.
The signing was announced at the same time as Brett Kulak’s five-year deal, giving the Avalanche the same top six defenseman they ended last season with, assuming no other changes.
At 41 years old, Burns is the last remaining NHL player who played before the 2004-05 lockout. He began his career in October 2003 with the Minnesota Wild at 18 years old.
Last season, Burns extended his Iron Man streak, playing in all 82 games for the Avs. he recorded 12 goals and 35 points in the process, and logged 18:53 of ice time per game. In the postseason, Burns added four assists in 13 games.
The 2025-26 season saw Burns skate in his 1,500th career contest on Oct. 11 against the Dallas Stars, making him the eighth defenseman and, at the time, the 23rd player overall to reach that milestone. He later appeared in his 1,000th consecutive game on April 4 at Dallas to become the second player in NHL history to play in 1,000 straight games (Phil Kessel, 1,064). The right-shot defenseman’s output was his 12th consecutive season of dressing in every game. He enters the 2026-27 season just 57 games shy of matching Kessel for the longest “Iron Man” streak in NHL history. Burns also scored his 271st career goal on March 16 vs. Pittsburgh to pass Bobby Orr for the seventh-most tallies by a defenseman in league history.
In 1,579 career regular-season games, the Canadian blueliner has 273 goals and 945 points, split between the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Avalanche. He has appeared in one Stanley Cup Final (2016 with San Jose) but has not yet won it all.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 228 pounds, Burns was the recipient of the 2016-17 Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL. He also finished fourth in Hart Trophy voting and was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award. Burns also finished in the top three for the Norris Tropy in 2015-16 and 2018-19.