<\/p>\n
FILE – Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Nov. 29, 2025, in Denver.<\/p>\n
David Zalubowski\/AP Photo\/David Zalubowski<\/p>\n
FILE – Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns smiles at his teammates at the end of the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks, March 20, 2026, in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Erin Hooley\/AP Photo\/Erin Hooley<\/p>\n
FILE – Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns, right, collects the puck as San Jose Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren pursues in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Feb. 4, 2026, in Denver.<\/p>\n
David Zalubowski\/AP Photo\/David Zalubowski<\/p>\n
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) \u2014 The famed bushy beard of Brent Burns was neatly groomed. His hair, too. When he smiled, front teeth gleamed in the gap where he once had none.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It’s a fresh look as the 41-year-old Colorado Avalanche defenseman embarks on his 23rd NHL season<\/a>. But he’s still the colorful character they refer to \u201cBurnsy,\u201d the one who’s still up for the grind as he chases his first Stanley Cup title. The one who took a young player under his wing this summer and invited him into his house.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The one who doesn’t focus on the possibility of breaking the league’s all-time ironman streak, which, health willing, could happen in February.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to figure out what stick I\u2019m going to use tomorrow, what I\u2019m going to eat tonight,\u201d said Burns, who has played in 1,007 straight regular-season games and sits 57 away from tying the mark of Phil Kessel. \u201cI don\u2019t really think about all the other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Never a doubt he would return<\/p>\n Retirement didn’t even really cross his mind after the Avalanche were swept by Vegas in the Western Conference Final. He signed another one-year deal in late June and was right back to training.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n His superpower, according to teammate Brock Nelson, is his ability to stay young at heart.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think he strikes anybody as a 41-year-old. He still seems like an 18-, 19-year-old kid,\u201d the 34-year-old Nelson said. \u201cJust having fun, always laughing and having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n This summer, the Burns family hosted T.J. Hughes, a 24-year-old forward out of the University of Michigan. They didn’t want him living out of a suitcase at a hotel.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just such an unbelievable guy,\u201d said Burns, whose kids frequently engaged Hughes in every high-energy activity they could. “Just a great human being off the ice. So driven, which has really helped push me.<\/p>\n \u201cWatching him, what he can do, and getting to see him off the ice and meet his family, just really cheering for him to do well.\u201d<\/p>\n Hughes moved out of the Burns household at the urging of Burns.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got to get some rest,\u201d cracked Burns, who had 12 goals and 23 assists last season as he averaged nearly 19 minutes of ice time per game. \u201cHe\u2019s playing mini-sticks all day long, and my little one\u2019s got him on the trampoline for two hours a day. I said, ‘You’ve got to get some sleep.’\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Chasing Kessel’s ironman streak<\/p>\n Kessel’s consecutive games streak stands at 1,064 and took place from Nov. 3, 2009, to April 13, 2023. Should Burns remain in the lineup, he could tie the mark on Feb. 13 at Tampa Bay and break it two days later in front of the home crowd against Columbus.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to be the guy that breaks that streak,\u201d Avs coach Jared Bednar said. \u201cI’ve got way too much respect for him, for what he\u2019s done in his career, and for what he\u2019s doing for us on a daily basis. He\u2019s proven to me that he deserves to be in our lineup. I\u2019m hoping that he can stay healthy and get it. I wish him the best of luck, and I just hope his health holds up.\u201d<\/p>\n Bednar added that Burns returned this season in \u201cphenomenal condition.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just the beard that\u2019s making him look younger \u2014 or lack of a beard \u2014 I think he\u2019s in great condition.\u201d<\/p>\n But there’s another factor that goes into keeping the streak going: good fortune. That’s why he doesn’t fret about it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just too much that can happen,\u201d said Burns, whose streak began on Nov. 21, 2013, while with San Jose. \u201cIf you start thinking about that, (expletive) will happen. I\u2019m not really lying, I don\u2019t really think about it.<\/p>\n “Just trying to stay afloat most of the time \u2014 and figure out what\u2019s for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A long season<\/p>\n He embraces the grind of a long season, which he still relishes.<\/p>\n \u201cI must,\u201d he said, referring to his longevity.<\/p>\n As for his groomed beard, he said, \u201cit’s a little different, for sure.\u201d But he found an advantage: The trim makes him more aerodynamic on the ice to keep up with the youngsters.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to enjoy the fun things, the (expletive) things, the mundane things,” Burns said. “You\u2019ve got to enjoy being at the rink. It\u2019s not easy. It\u2019s not all great. Some hard days, hard work. But I think when you\u2019re with a group that loves to work and we just naturally have fun doing it, it definitely helps, too.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s an important part, just to enjoy that process.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n See AP\u2019s full NHL coverage here<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FILE – Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5116],"tags":[193,1772,71418,1034,192,144,5277,5,1117,4,10617,3494,2168,3492,10615,10616,60785,61504],"class_list":["post-666458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-colorado-avalanche","tag-avalanche","tag-brent-burns","tag-brent-burns-avalanche","tag-brock-nelson","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-coloradoavalanche","tag-hockey","tag-jared-bednar","tag-nhl","tag-package-100024-ap-online","tag-package-100502-member-choice-sports-option","tag-phil-kessel","tag-product-30599-ap-sports-news-s-wire-only","tag-product-32002-ap-online-hockey-news","tag-product-32562-ap-online-other-sports-news","tag-product-40776-ap-california-sports-only","tag-product-40777-ap-colorado-sports-only"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
<\/a><\/p>\n