Avalanche sign veteran defenseman Brent Burns to 1-year deal

Six-time NHL All-Star and 2017 Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns signed a one-year contract Wednesday with the Colorado Avalanche.

The 40-year-old Burns reached free agency after spending three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. He finished this past season in Raleigh with six goals and 29 points while averaging 20:57 in ice time and playing in all 82 games as a top pairing option alongside Jaccob Slavin.

It’s the 11th consecutive season in which Burns has played 82 games and has the fourth-longest consecutive games streak of all time that stands at 925 consecutive contests.

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Burns’ place in the free agent defenseman market was already as one of the strongest players available. Tuesday watched the New York Rangers sign Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year contract with others such as Cody Ceci and Ryan Lindgren also signing four-year deals.

Burns and former Hurricanes teammate Dmitry Orlov came into Day 2 as the two most attractive players for teams seeking experienced performers who could join their roster.

Joining the Avalanche, who won the Stanley Cup in 2022, will provide Burns another opportunity to win the championship that has eluded him throughout a career that has seen him score 261 goals and 910 points in 1,497 games.

Finding bottom-six and defensive depth at a team-friendly price tag was one of the items facing Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland entering this offseason with 37-year-old Erik Johnson hitting free agency.

PuckPedia projected that the Avalanche, who did not make the financial terms of Burns’ contract available, had $7.55 million in cap space.

His arrival provides the Avs with seven defensemen under contract with the idea that Burns could challenge for a second- or third-pairing role. The Avs already have what might be top pairing in the NHL with two-time and current Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar and Devon Toews. Makar and Toews were also on the top defensive pairing for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off with the expectation they could serve the same role at the Olympics in 2026.

It would leave Burns, a right-handed shot, as a player who could be placed alongside the left-handed Samuel Girard on the second pairing, which would move Josh Manson to the third pairing. Or the Avs could opt to keep Girard and Manson together, which would place Burns on the third pairing next to Sam Malinski.