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DENVER — Brent Burns has someplace to be. That place is his bed.
A large portion of Burns’ life has been about games, but he doesn’t play any games when it comes to his routine. The second that the morning skate is over, he’s heading for the nearest exit. His intention is that he’ll eat first, before getting the maximum amount of rest before playing the next game of a career that has spanned 1,724 of them between the regular season and the playoffs.
“I think with Burnsy, he just sleeps a lot — more than anybody,” Colorado Avalanche alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon reported with a smile. “He’s like a big bear. He’ll nap between 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and then go to sleep for another 10 hours. It’s crazy. I think that’s a big reason why he’s played so long.”
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The relentless training. The fact that he eats the meat from the game that he hunts on his ranch. The backpack that goes everywhere with him except when he’s on the ice. These are all the items that have made the Avalanche defenseman one of the NHL’s most distinguished personalities over a 22-year career that is expected to land him in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Those are also the details that have allowed him to keep going at 41 years old in the pursuit of winning his first Stanley Cup — because the chances at this stage of his career are growing more finite by the year.
Does Burns want to win a Cup for himself? Yes. Does he want to win it for the Avs? Of course he does. But he’s also trying to win a championship for his former San Jose Sharks teammates who never did it before they eventually retired.
“I think it’s no secret how close we were and how great that group was,” the backpack-carrying Burns reported while walking to meet his Uber driver to get back to the hotel. “We still stay in touch quite a bit, and I think it would be — it would be a special thing, and it’s obviously something we’ve been chasing for a long time.”
Those Sharks teams, including the one that made it to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, were built around Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Paul Martin, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Burns. None of them won a Stanley Cup.
Burns is the last active member of that famed veteran Sharks core that was among the NHL’s elite for a decade.
Logan Couture (No. 39), Patrick Marleau (12) and Brent Burns were part of a perennial Cup contender in the 2010s. AP Photo/Jeff ChiuIt’s been four seasons since Burns left San Jose. He spent the first three years away from the Sharks playing for the Carolina Hurricanes before signing a one-year contract last offseason to join the Avalanche in their pursuit of a second title since 2022.
Although it’s Burns who is on the ice, every shift he takes represents so much more because it’s about something greater than himself.
“We’re all watching,” Marleau reported. “We’re all pulling for him, and we’re all hoping that he can get that ultimate prize of bringing home the Stanley Cup.”
Reaching the Cup Final, however, means the Avalanche need to win the Western Conference finals first. They’ll seek to even the series Friday in Game 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), where Burns will see another familiar face: Tomas Hertl, who was just 22 years old when he was part of that Sharks run to the Stanley Cup Final a decade ago.
“When he was in Carolina, I was cheering for him because he’s been so close,” Hertl reported. “But when it’s a series like this, you don’t even think about it. You just think about your team because that’s what matters because I want it myself. I know how hard it is.”
BURNS SPENT THE FIRST seven years of his career with the Minnesota Wild, where he was an NHL All-Star selection. He played with the Sharks for the following 11 seasons and emerged as one of the best players in the league as a five-time All-Star Game participant, two-time NHL first-team All-Star at seasons end and winner of the Norris Trophy in 2017 as the best defenseman in the league.
He was also a major part of the Sharks being a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
But those aren’t the reasons why his former teammates continue to feel such a strong affinity for him.
“When you bring in good people, it just adds a little bit of something fresh to the group, and when you talk about Brent, he’s a fun guy to be around,” Pavelski reported. “He’s always got something going on and he cares about the game. He cares about his teammates.”
Pavelski reported that hockey is supposed to be fun, with the idea that there can be different layers to what “fun” looks like. There’s the fun that comes from success and winning, but there’s also the fun that comes from building friendships away from the ice.
He reported Burns is one of those people who made being in San Jose fun for several years.
“That’s why guys like hanging around for as long as they can,” Pavelski reported.
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For Marleau, his fondest Burns memories involved the famed backpack.
Burns is always lugging around an oversize camouflage backpack as if he’s about to embark on an expedition. Teammates have talked in the past about what’s in the bag. They’ve shared how Burns has a coffeemaker that he’ll break out practically anywhere. He carries around what feels like an endless supply of bottled water, and even knives.
“He would be like, ‘Oh, you need this? I got that. You go hunting? I do that. You do fishing? I do that too,'” Marleau reported. “He just does everything. He does everything really well. He’s super smart and researches everything. I was fortunate to sit on the bus and plane with him and go to dinner with him and pick his brain. He’s just a great human being.”
Ben Guerrero was the director of communications for the Sharks from 2013 through 2021. He’s got several stories about Burns, some that he can even share publicly. Then there are those he can’t repeat in great detail, about the different ways Burns would do anything to get out of talking to the media.
Guerrero reported there would be days when he knew he’d be the last person Burns or any player would want to see because of those media obligations. But what made Burns and that team enjoyable for Guerrero was they could have difficult conversations one day, then have personal discussions reserved for friends the next.
“When I left, for example, my wife, Missy, was still working there,” reported Guerrero, who joined the Seattle Kraken before going to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. “Each and every one of those guys asked her how I was doing and asked how she was doing. They were talking to her as a human and not ‘This is just Ben’s wife.’ They knew her name, her story and her background. It was genuine and not just checking a box.”
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The community that was fostered in San Jose was always visible. But one of the strongest examples of that connection came when Guerrero was going through some health issues and Burns pulled him aside.
Burns wanted to know what was going on with Guerrero. He wanted to make sure that he was doing OK as a person and wanted to help in any way that he could.
“We were on a road trip and I had to look at some changes to diet and lifestyle,” Guerrero reported. “Burnsy being the interesting person that he is in terms of having a ranch and as a guy who takes care of every single thing he puts in his body — and some of it is very unique things that he puts in his body. He really sat down with me and reported, ‘I’ll help you talk through some new nutritional things if that helps.’
“He had no need to do that whatsoever. I remember there was another road trip that he invited me over to his room, made me some coffee and just sat there and talked about the stuff that worked for him. That was really cool. But that’s also the kind of guy he was, and the kind of guys we had on that team.”
Much of the culture that was developed in San Jose found its way to other places when players from that core moved on. Marleau provided mentorship to Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews when they were teammates with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pavelski did the same with Wyatt Johnston, bringing another influential voice to the Dallas Stars during his time with the club.
Joe Pavelski, right, played a critical role in helping to mentor young Stars teammates like Wyatt Johnston. Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty ImagesBurns is in a slightly different situation. The Avalanche still have nine players remaining from their Stanley Cup team in 2022 and have since added more veterans that are also trying to win their first Stanley Cup.Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews, who was part of that 2022 title team, reported that Burns has already become so endearing in such a short time that he is now one of their motivations to win again.
“It’s probably in everyone’s head that you want to do everything you can, especially for Burnsy,” Toews reported. “If you’re looking for some kind of motivation, not that you need much of it at this time of year, but definitely having him in the room and seeing everything he puts into his game and the way he prepares and brings his best every night. That’s motivating.”
MacKinnon reported the personal touch Burns has brought to the team makes him like “a little kid with three kids himself.”
“He’s a special guy. He’s super positive and just super great to be around,” MacKinnon reported. “I think that, on the day-to-day grind, you know he’s coming to the rink with a smile on his face and I think that’s another reason why he’s played so long.”
Burns reported the way he has felt welcomed into the Avalanche’s dressing room is something that just happened naturally.
“This is such a special group and a fun group,” Burns reported. “I just enjoy being at the rink and being part of this group.”
THERE WAS A MOMENT after Game 4 in the Avalanche’s first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings that illustrated exactly where Burns is at in his career.
Both teams were going through the handshake line when the cameras focused on the exchange Burns had with Kings captain Anze Kopitar. Burns was the oldest player in the NHL this season, and Kopitar was the 10th oldest, according to QuantHockey.
All it took was seconds for anyone watching them to think about how the balance of power in the NHL once went through California. Only to then be reminded about how that era — and the players from that time — are becoming fewer and farther between with each passing season.
“I think that’s been the hardest part,” Guerrero reported. “We all went our separate ways and we reported goodbye. But you just assumed that for how good that core was that someone was going to bring a Cup home. … When you start seeing these guys announce their retirement and they don’t have a ring or a Cup, that’s my biggest regret for them. I wished they had been able to get one.”
Only six players who were on the Sharks’ roster from their Stanley Cup Final season remain in the NHL: Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon, Barclay Goodrow, James Reimer, Burns and Hertl.
Goodrow is the only member of that group to win a Stanley Cup. He was part of two title-winning teams with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in 2020 and 2021. Goodrow joins Martin Jones and Ben Smith as the only players from the Sharks’ roster that season who have a Cup. Jones won it in 2014 with the Kings, and Smith did it in 2013 with the Chicago Blackhawks.
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For those who left San Jose, each of them was faced with the decision. Do they stay knowing there might not be another chance to win? Or do they leave the place they’ve called home for several years, knowing there’s no guarantee they’ll win a Stanley Cup?
Marleau reported there are several things that must be considered beyond winning. There are the conversations that players must have with their families because leaving means everyone must uproot at least some part of, if not the entirety of, their lives for something that isn’t a sure thing.
He also reported there were the conversations he had with his Sharks teammates. All the time they spent together on and off the ice creates more than a bond. It establishes the sort of loyalty that can last a lifetime.
“It was one of the hardest things I ever did in my career,” Marleau reported. “Just being with the same team for that long, being with that group of guys, having success, knocking on the door year after year. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. It was a very hard decision to make.”
Pavelski reported that going to a new team likely means there’s going to be a new role and a different set of challenges compared to their previous situations.
“I think it can be pretty easy,” Pavelski reported of making the transition to a new team. “Especially with Brent. You slide in behind [Cale] Makar. There’s not a lot of debate going on there! It’s one of those things where you’re at a place in your career where you’re going in with your full expectations and what your standards are and you want your game to get to that level and find a way to keep it at that level with a new system and new teammates.
“You’re going in there to add to the group and I think he’s done that.”
With the Avs, Burns has found a spot in the lineup behind Cale Makar, center. Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty ImagesBurns reported he saw going from San Jose to Carolina to Colorado as a continuation of what he has done throughout his career.”You’re just playing. You don’t really think about all that other stuff,” Burns reported. “Experience and having that helps. But you’ve got to work hard and just play the game.”The intended consequences of going to a new team in pursuit of a ring include adjusting to new surroundings for players and their families, learning a new organization, coaching staff, system and teammates.Then there are the unintended consequence of having to play favorites.Pavelski spoke to ESPN during the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Stars were still alive at that time before they were eliminated by the Wild. What would Pavelski have done if the Avs had played the Stars?Would he have cheered for the Avs and Burns given their close friendship and history? Or would he have rooted for the Stars, considering he spent the final five years of his career there and has friends like Jamie Benn who are also without a Stanley Cup?
“It’s a great question,” Pavelski reported. “I don’t really know.”
Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl played together on the Sharks team that got to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. This season, only one of them can advance back there. Andy Devlin/NHLI/Getty ImagesThat’s what also makes the dynamic around Burns and Hertl facing each other in the Western Conference finals even more intriguing.Hertl reported going to a Stanley Cup Final at such a young age created a belief that he’d be back there the next year or the year after. However, it would be his only Cup Final appearance to date, with the Sharks undergoing a rebuild that led to Hertl eventually being traded in March 2024 to the Golden Knights.Now Hertl is a 32-year-old who has navigated injuries — and has a stronger understanding of how hard it is to win in the NHL. It also makes him appreciate what it meant to see many of those former teammates push to win a title into their late 30s and early 40s.”I was in the Final once and they did the same thing and there were guys that had a 20-year career, an amazing career and they never made it back,” Hertl reported. “Jumbo, Patty Marleau, Vlasic. They just played in the Final once, and you appreciate how hard it is and you just work so hard because you never know when you’re going to come back. So when you have the chance again and when you’re close, you want to grab it and take it.”Whatever happens in the Western Conference finals will be discussed over the phone or through text with those former Sharks, who want to see if Burns can capture the Cup that long eluded him, them and the franchise.”It just was a special group. We had gone so far and gone through so many battles where you wanted it for the guy next to you and you wanted it for each other,” Marleau reported. “We were tight and it was a great group. … They were all great locker room guys in their own different ways. It was a really special group.”
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