SAN JOSE, CA - San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns played in his NHL-milestone 1,000th game tonight, Dec. 27, against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center. In honor of the achievement, Burns will be recognized in a special pre-game ceremony prior to Sharks home game on Jan. 12 vs. the Ottawa Senators.
Burns becomes the 328th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000 NHL game milestone and he is one of only 23 active NHL players to have played in as many games.
Since joining the NHL in the 2003-2004 season with the Minnesota Wild, Burns has annually ranked amongst the League's top blueliners. In fact, no NHL defenseman during that span has accrued more than Burns' 601 points (186 goals, 415 assists) in 999 NHL games. In addition, he ranks second in goals (186) {Montreal's Shea Weber (194)} and game-winning goals (34) {Dustin Byfuglien (36)} in that timeframe.
Sharks Defenseman Brent Burns Plays in His 1,000th Career NHL Game
He was named the recipient of the 2017 James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman. That season, he registered 76 points (29 goals, 47 assists) and a plus-19 rating in 82 games. His 29 goals set a Sharks franchise record for a defenseman in a single season and ranked as the 18th highest single-season total by a defenseman in NHL history. His 76 points broke his own Sharks franchise record for most points by a blueliner in a single season (set by himself in 2015-16).
Burns finished fourth in Hart Trophy voting in 2017 and was named as one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy in 2016.
He was the recipient of the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2015 for his outstanding charitable and community work.
A First-Team All-Star in 2017 and Second-Team All-Star in 2016, Burns has been named to the NHL All-Star Team five times (2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). He was named NHL Player of the Month (Third Star) twice (Mar. 2016 and Jan. 2017) and NHL Player of the Week three times (Nov. 2016, Apr. 2016, Mar. 2016). Additionally, he was recognized as the Sharks Player of the Year in 2017 and is a seven-time "Sharks Player of the Month."
This season, Burns became one of just two active defensemen to reach 600 career NHL points (Zdeno Chara). He is currently tied for first amongst all NHL defensemen in assists (31), tied for third among NHL defensemen and second on the Sharks in points (35). In October, he posted a career high nine-game point streak (Oct. 9 to Oct. 30), scoring three goals and collecting 11 assists to set a franchise-best mark by a Sharks defenseman. In addition, Burns currently holds the third longest games played streak (behind Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski) in San Jose history with 427 consecutive games played.
Burns currently holds the Sharks all-time franchise record for most goals, assists, and points among defensemen.
Internationally, he has participated in four World Championships with Canada (2008-silver, 2010, 2011, 2015-gold), where he was named "Best Defenseman" twice (2008 and 2015). He won a gold medal at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and a silver medal with Canada at the 2004 World Jr. Championships.
Burns has appeared in 74 Stanley Cup Playoff games, registering 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) and 79 penalty minutes. In 2015-16, he led all NHL defensemen in postseason goals (7), assists (17), points (27) and shots (77) to help the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history.
The six-foot-five, 230-pound native of Barrie, Ontario was originally selected by Minnesota in the first round (20th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft. He was acquired by San Jose from Minnesota on June 24, 2011.
Brent Burns Landmark Games
| Game #1 | Oct. 8, 2003 | Minnesota at Chicago |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Game #100 | Apr. 2, 2006 | Minnesota vs Detroit |
| Game #500 | Jan. 31, 2012 | San Jose vs Columbus |
| Game #600 | Jan. 18, 2014 | San Jose at Tampa Bay |
| Game #700 | Mar. 9, 2015 | San Jose vs Pittsburgh |
| Game #800 | Oct. 17, 2016 | San Jose at NY Rangers |
| Game #900 | Nov. 24, 2017 | San Jose at Vegas |
| Game #999 | Dec. 23, 2018 | San Jose vs Arizona |
| Game #1,000 | Dec. 27, 2018 | San Jose vs Anaheim |
| First NHL Goal | Oct. 12, 2003 | Minnesota at San Jose |
| First NHL Assist | Oct. 10, 2003 | Minnesota vs NY Rangers |
| First NHL Hat Trick | Nov. 29, 2013 | San Jose vs St. Lous |
| 100th Career Goal | Oct. 26, 2014 | San Jose vs NY Islanders |
| 100th Career Assist | Oct. 19, 2010 | Minnesota vs Vancouver |
| 100th Career Point | Dec. 1, 2008 | Minnesota vs Colorado |
| 400th Career Assist | Nov. 8, 2018 | San Jose at Dallas |
| 500th Career Point | Oct. 4, 2017 | San Jose vs Philadelphia |
| 600th Career Point | Dec. 16, 2018 | San Jose at Chicago |
