Burns set to reach 1,500 NHL games when Avalanche host Stars

DENVER -- Brent Burns may be on the verge of his 1,500th NHL game, but in some ways he doesn’t feel as though he’s had so long of a career.

“It's probably like raising kids a little bit. They say like every day feels like it's 10 years, but 10 years goes in the blink of an eye too,” the Colorado Avalanche defenseman said Friday. “I definitely feel like I just started, but also at the same time, it's been a long grind too.”

Burns, whose career has spanned 22 seasons and four teams, is set to become the 23rd player and eighth defenseman in NHL history, as well as the only active player, to reach the milestone when the Avalanche host the Dallas Stars on Saturday (9 p.m. ET; Victory+, KTVD, ALT).

The other seven defensemen are Zdeno Chara (1,680), Chris Chelios (1,651), Scott Stevens (1,635), Larry Murphy (1,615), Ray Bourque (1,612), Nicklas Lidstrom (1,564) and Ryan Suter (1,526).

“It's incredibly impressive,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Eighth defenseman to ever do it. And if you look at the guys on that list, I remember looking at it, glancing at it, it's pretty impressive guys. Hall of Famers. It's impressive to hit 1,000. Every game after that's a bonus, I'm sure.

“Now he's at 1,500 and it's hard to do, especially like, they're not easy minutes that he plays. He's an older guy now, and to me, the streak he has of games he's played in a row, it's part of the reason why he's hit 1,500. But to be able to play the way he does, as physically as he does, and to be able to stay healthy for as long as he has, it's amazing.”

The 40-year-old, who was the oldest player on an NHL opening night roster this season, is also in the midst of the fourth-longest consecutive games played streak in NHL history, and the longest active. He’s skated in 927 straight, a feat that’s a testament to his longevity, last missing a game in November 2013.

“I think it's a lot of luck. It's definitely timing of different things that have happened,” Burns said. “You hear guys say it all the time, but you're pretty lucky to have great people that take care of you and get you through the 2 1/2 hours you’ve got to get through. And a lot of times it's just been very lucky with different schedule breaks and when different things have happened.”

Burns, who has 910 points (261 goals, 649 assists) in 1,499 games with the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes and Avalanche, and 80 points (24 goals, 56 assists) in 135 Stanley Cup Playoff games, has made a career out of learning from those around him, absorbing as much as he can from teammates and opponents. Two key figures who helped him early on are former Sharks teammates Patrick Marleau (1,779 games played) and Joe Thornton (1,714).

“They're both very different guys, but [I] learned a ton from both,” Burns said. “'Patty' was just so even-keeled and so professional in the way he took care of himself. And 'Jumbo' just had an unbelievable mentality. He always used to say, 'Just play 82. You’ve got to play 82. There's no nights off.' His mentality was just unbelievable to see and be a part of and learn from, and definitely, both those guys were huge for me in many ways.”

Now, in his first season with the Avalanche, the Barrie, Ontario, native is the one inspiring his new teammates with his ability to still regularly play 20 or more minutes per game. He has averaged 20:49 of ice time through two games this season after averaging 20:57 in 82 games with the Hurricanes last season.

“A guy like that, I think everybody kind of looks to him and watches him and sees how he prepares,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “Fifteen hundred is absolutely crazy. There's so many games, like, so many games. I don't think people understand, to play 1,500 games, like, you have to play hurt and banged up so many times. And I think just getting to know 'Burnsie' over the last month plus, he takes really good care of himself and does everything he possibly can to make sure he's in the best spot come puck drop.

“He's played for a long time, and I think the one thing that has helped him play for that long is the joy he's got for the game and how much he really enjoys coming to the [rink] and loves competing. So I don't think you play 1,500 games, or [have] a long iron man streak like that, without really loving the grind and loving the camaraderie and everything that comes with it.”

On Friday, Burns wasn’t getting ahead of himself just yet. He said he wasn’t even thinking too much about Saturday and the milestone.

“Still got to make it through another night,” he said. “Obviously, everything's a lot harder as you get older. But I just love it. Even a day like today, the body doesn't feel too good, but you get going in practice, and you get seeing guys get the sweat going, and you just start laughing. Those are things you can't take for granted.

“I think you’ve got to enjoy it.”