Burns hoping for chance at Stanley Cup after signing with Avalanche

The answer was so simple to Brent Burns.

Why is he coming back for his 22nd NHL season after signing a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday?

"I still love it," Burns said Thursday. "I think that's so important, the passion part of it."

Burns' passion these days is fueled by many things: his family, being at the rink and in the company of his teammates, his legendary dedication to his training. The 40-year-old defenseman made clear, though, what's driving him most is trying to finally win the Stanley Cup.

"The biggest one for me is there's still something to chase," he said. "So, I'm still super motivated for that and there's one big goal still."

A first-round pick (No. 20) by the Minnesota Wild in the 2003 NHL Draft, Burns has chased the Stanley Cup through seven seasons with the Wild, 11 with the San Jose Sharks and the past three with the Carolina Hurricanes. He came close to winning it with the Sharks when they reached the 2016 Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Since then, he's been trying to get back to the Cup Final and win it.

"That's a big part for me," Burns said. "That's something I really want to do. It's definitely not easy."

Burns knows that as well as anyone. His 1,497 career regular-season games are the sixth most by a player who hasn't won the Cup. His former Sharks teammates Patrick Marleau (1,779 games) and Joe Thornton (1,714) hold the top two spots on that list no player wants to be on.

Marleau and Thornton retired without fulfilling their Cup dreams. Burns could have his last, best chance to fulfill his with the Avalanche.

Led by Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin and Devon Toews, Colorado won the Cup in 2022 and is expected to be a top contender again this season. The Avalanche lost to the Dallas Stars in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, though, and have won only one postseason series since 2022 -- a first-round victory against the Winnipeg Jets in 2024.

A Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman in 2016-17, Burns is not at that level anymore, but he believes he can help Colorado get back to the top of the NHL mountain.

"Whatever they ask of me, that's what I want to do," he said. "That's all that I'm really looking at right now. That's what I want to do."

Burns, who will become the 23rd player in NHL history to skate in at least 22 seasons, showed he has plenty left last season with Carolina. Playing alongside Jaccob Slavin on the Hurricanes top defense pair, he had 29 points (six goals, 23 assists) and averaged 20:57 in ice time per game (second highest on the team) in 82 regular-season games.

Burns had five points (one goal, four assists) and averaged 22:55 in ice time in 15 playoff games for the Hurricanes, who lost to the eventual repeat Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in five games in the Eastern Conference Final. After falling short of reaching the Cup Final again, Burns became an unrestricted free agent Tuesday and made the difficult decision after what he called a "crazy 48 hours," to move on from the tight bonds he had formed in Carolina, particularly with Slavin and coach Rod Brind'Amour.

"It's very hard to leave that and that's still pretty fresh and still pretty hard," he said. "But like I said, in these decisions, it's crazy. It's happening fast and there's so much on the go and you have all these nerves from both sides and, obviously, coming here, it's so exciting.

"I think it's going to be a great fit for not only me but my family."

Burns is looking forward to joining the Avalanche's strong defense corps headed by Makar and Toews. Having marveled at Makar, the reigning Norris winner, from afar, he can't wait to watch him up close as a teammate.

"I've heard a lot about how he approaches the game and how he is at the rink, and I love that," Burns said. "I'm 40 years old, but I can still learn a learn a lot. I don't know if I'll be able to do any of it, but I love that part. Trying to learn from people around you, I think is such an important thing and trying to adapt to it, and there's a lot of guys I think that I can learn from."

Burns also has a lot to offer with his puck-moving ability, which should fit well with Colorado's style of play, experience and the example he sets on and off the ice. A fitness fiend, he has not missed a game the past 11 seasons. His streak of 925 consecutive games played is fourth in NHL history.

If Burns plays in all 82 games for Colorado this season, he will move past Doug Jarvis (964) and Keith Yandle (989) into second on that list, behind only Phil Kessel (1,064).

"Just looking forward to getting there and being a part of the group and getting to know guys and get back into the routine of things at the rink," Burns said. "Obviously, we've got a couple of months here before we get going, but that excitement is there."