Burns joins Avalanche on 1-year deal
The Colorado Avalanche signed free-agent defenseman Brent Burns to a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.
The deal includes a $1-million cap hit plus games-played bonuses that can earn him another $3 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
It will be the 22nd NHL campaign for the 40-year-old veteran, who spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Burns tallied 29 points while averaging 20:57 of ice time in 82 games with the Canes last season before adding a goal and four assists in 15 playoff appearances.
He's just two years removed from a 61-point campaign in 2022-23 that saw him finish 10th in Norris Trophy voting. Burns won the award as the NHL's top defenseman back in 2016-17 when he tallied a career-high 29 goals to go with 47 assists. He was also a Norris finalist in 2016 and 2019 during his heyday with the San Jose Sharks.
Burns stands as 6-foot-5 and 228 pounds, though his physicality has diminished in the later stage of his career. He recorded a career-low 11 hits last season.
But he still excels at finding ways to get pucks through traffic and on net, as his 174 shots last season ranked 17th among NHL defensemen. That could be music to the ears for some of Colorado's net-front presences, such as Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, and Artturi Lehkonen.
Brent Burns, signed 1x$? by COL, is a veteran offensive defenceman. Plenty of stuff he can still do: shoot the puck, deliver a break-out pass, break up plays with his long reach. Does get walked more often than you'd like, does not hit, and can make the odd bad turnover. pic.twitter.com/emeoPYUN4V
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 3, 2025
Burns, who shoots right, projects to slot in on Colorado's second defense pair with Sam Girard. The Avalanche could also keep the longstanding Girard-Josh Manson duo together and allow Burns to anchor a third pair alongside Keaton Middleton, Sam Malinski, or any other offseason additions.
His 925 consecutive games played is the longest active streak in the league and the fourth-longest in NHL history. Phil Kessel owns the ironman record at 1,064 straight games.
Burns is still chasing the first Stanley Cup ring of his storied career.