The Colorado Avalanche are looking to put last season behind them, where they lost in seven games in the opening round to the Dallas Stars. This offseason, the Avalanche didn't make many moves to bolster their roster. Their biggest move was bringing in defenseman Brent Burns.
Burns is no longer playing at the same level as he had during his prime years with the San Jose Sharks, but he is a reliable player for championship teams to have as depth. That is exactly the role that Burns will play in Colorado, as a depth defenseman.
When reporting to training camp earlier this month, Burns admitted that even though this will be his 22nd season in the league, he did feel the nerves.
"You know, the good feelings for me coming in, it's not just another training camp," Burns told CBS News Colorado. "You get antsy before you go to bed. You're nervous in the morning, no idea what to expect. It was a great practice. It was tough."
Brent Burns admits nerves entering 22nd NHL season with Avalanche
Burns isn't expected to be a top pairing defenseman like he was during his time with the Sharks. At 40-years-old, he is projected by Daily Faceoff to be a third pair defenseman alongside Keaton Middleton.
After an eventful 11-year tenure with San Jose, Burns spent the past three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he didn't miss a single game. But over time, his production dropped off. In the 2022-23 campaign, Burns tallied 61 points (18 goals, 43 assists). The following year, Burns tallied 10 goals and 33 assists (43 points). In each of those years, Burns had a good plus/minus rating of +19. But last season, a full 82 games, Burns' numbers dipped, tallying just 29 points (six goals, 23 assists) with a plus/minus +7.
Burns isn't joining a rebuilding team, he's joining another Stanley Cup contender back in the Western Conference. The Avalanche have fallen short of their championship expectations in each year after winning it all in 2022. For Burns, he's not expected to be a focal point on the team. The focus will be on the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, the latter of whom is entering his first full season after missing the past couple due to a knee injury. At this stage, Burns is a big name that can help shore up the bottom defensive pairing. That's pretty good value for the Avalanche.
Of course, if there are struggles, Burns could very well lose some playing time to another defender. That's the new reality for him.