HIGHLIGHTS
- Brent Burns becomes the second player in NHL history to play 1,000 consecutive regular-season games
- The 41-year-old Avalanche defenseman is the first blueliner ever to reach the milestone, sitting 64 games behind Phil Kessel’s all-time record
- Check out the quotes and full details on Burns’ incredible streak below
Brent Burns just keeps showing up. The 41-year-old Colorado Avalanche defenseman became the second player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 consecutive regular-season games on Saturday against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
Only Phil Kessel, who strung together 1,064 straight from 2009 to 2023, has done it before. Burns is also the first defenseman ever to reach the mark, which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous when you consider how physical that position is at the NHL level.
Check out the graphic from the Gino Hard team on the milestone:
The streak started on November 21, 2013 with the San Jose Sharks after Burns missed 13 games with a facial injury from a Robin Lehner stick to the mouth. That was 4,517 days ago. Since then he’s played through four teams, won a Norris Trophy, reached a Stanley Cup Final, and logged over 23,454 minutes of ice time. At 41, he’s one of the oldest active NHL players in the league and still producing.
“I think it’s nice. You start to think about those things and all the things people sacrifice along the way,” Burns said. “1,000 is always big in this league. I never really thought about it, to be honest, until maybe 20-30 games ago, because it takes so much luck.”
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar called it what it is: “Can you imagine all the injuries he’s played through that probably puts other guys out for weeks, months, and he just plays through them like it’s not a big deal. It’s an incredible accomplishment.”
Burns isn’t just hanging on, either. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound blueliner has 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) this season with a career-best plus-30 rating. He signed a one-year deal with Colorado last summer and has been everything the Avalanche could have hoped for on their blue line alongside Cale Makar.
With 64 games separating him from Kessel’s record, Burns could break it next season if he keeps playing. I wouldn’t bet against the guy at this point.
“There’s still something to chase. I’m still super motivated for that,” Burns said. “Yeah, there’s one big goal still.”
