Avalanche’s Brent Burns plays in 965th consecutive game, good for third most in NHL history
When the puck dropped for Saturday’s game between the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes, one player distinguised himself in the NHL’s record books.
Saturday’s game marks the 965th consecutive game played for Colorado defenseman Brent Burns, making his the third longest streak in NHL history.
BRENT💪 BURNS 💪
Burns passed Doug Jarvis’ streak of 964 straight games played. Jarvis played forward in the NHL from 1975 through 1988. He won four Stanley Cups as part of the 1970s Montreal Canadiens dynasty, and went on to also play for the Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers.
Burns, 40, is now 24 games shy of former defenseman Keith Yandle’s streak of 989 consecutive games, which currently sits second all-time behind winger Phil Kessel’s streak of 1,064 straight games.
The Barrie, Ontario native is still an effective player in now his 22nd NHL season. In 39 games played, he has five goals and 15 assists for 20 points.
Burns was drafted by the Minnesota Wild 20th overall back in 2003. Originally a winger, he transitioned to defense for the 2006-07 season, where he has stayed for the vast majority of his career.
After seven season with Minnesota, Burns was traded along with a second-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a package of players and picks during the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
It was with San Jose where Burns had his greatest success, and where he began his iron-man streak. He spent 10 years with the Sharks, during which time he won the 2017 Norris Trophy and was named to five straight All-Star games. His consecutive-game streak began on November 21st, 2013.
Ahead of the 2022-23 season, Burns was traded to the Hurricanes, where he would play for three seasons before signing a one-year deal with the Avalanche this past offseason.
Burns has 266 goals and 664 assists for 930 points in 1,536 career games.
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