The Colorado Avalanche signed another veteran defender who has joined the fray. Brent Burns has been signed to a one-year contract.
We have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Brent Burns. pic.twitter.com/UNtkSPSmFq
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 3, 2025
Burns is a 21-year veteran playing for his fourth different team in his career. The 40-year-old played a full 82-game season for the fourth straight year last year with the Carolina Hurricanes.
In those 82 games, he scored six goals and 23 assists. He is the 2017 Norris Trophy winner and has the fourth-longest ironman streak at 925 games. He’s played in 1,497 career games and will surely pass 1,500 games.
2017 Norris Trophy
2x NHL First All Star Team (2017, 2019)
1x NHL Second All-Star Team (2016)Current ironman streak of 925 games, 4th longest in @NHL history
1,497 career games, 8th most by a defenseman in league history https://t.co/OGaEKpFYQd
— Brendan McNicholas (@bmcnich) July 3, 2025
Burns also played in all 15 playoff games for the Canes last season. He tacked on another goal and four assists. This was all done with ice time averaging over 20 minutes each night.
Despite his age, he’s still strumming along. He was a valiant player on both ends of the ice for Carolina and was impactful at 5-on-5, the power play, and penalty kill.
BRENT BURNS AND THE CAROLINA HURRICANES 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WAfPXsxYHw
— NHL (@NHL) February 17, 2023
But Burns did struggle with the puck like a lot of Avalanche defensemen last season. He had 104 giveaways, the fourth highest in a single season in his career.
Burns will likely play a bigger role on the penalty kill with the likes of Cale Makar and Devon Toews quarterbacking the power play. He would excel at blocking shots, as he had 98 last season.
Brent Burns blocked a shot with his neck 😲 pic.twitter.com/qjwTwiefHF
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 20, 2024
While Burns is good on the ice, he is also a great figure in the locker room. Jared Bednar and his staff like a good veteran presence and locker room guy, and Burns fits the mold.
Burns will have a base salary of $1M and can earn bonuses up to $3M. This leaves plenty of room to fill up the bottom six for the Avs. The right-shot defenseman will likely slot in on the third pairing, but perhaps could swap with Josh Manson if needed.
Now, the Avalanche have brought in two new players and another defender. It may be a bit puzzling and a bit of a shock and surprise, but Brent Burns will look to make the most of his one-year deal in the Mile High City.
Canes fans really soured on Burns, who was Slavin’s partner for pretty much the entire past two years. For his faults, though, he should have something left in the tank to give the Avs in a not-top-pair role. pic.twitter.com/TvJyReCKY6
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 3, 2025