Former San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns will play in his 911th consecutive game to pass Patrick Marleau on the NHL’s Iron Man list on Thursday in San Jose.
The now 40-year-old hasn’t missed a game since 2013, and current Sharks alternate Captain Mario Ferraro can’t believe how well his old partner is still playing.
“That’s insane. He just turned 40. It’s very ironic that he’s doing it here. It’s cool,” Ferraro told SHD. “I’m not surprised. I could see that he was gonna continue to get through an Iron Man streak and continue to buzz from when he was playing here.”
Ferraro said he recently saw Burnes in Montreal when the Carolina Hurricanes were playing after the Sharks visit. Ferraro said he was able to congratulate Burns on reaching 900 consecutive games.
“I’m really happy for him. I can’t believe he’s 40, and he’s still buzzing,” Ferraro said. “He’s a staple for a hard-working athlete. He’s the face of that. He just does everything you got to do for your body, and treat your body well and play a long time.”
Burns didn’t comment much on his streak and played it off with reporters when he said, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Burns & Joe Thornton’s Jersey Retirement
Burnzie and the Hurricanes haven’t been to SAP Center since Joe Thornton’s jersey was retired, and the beard told reporters that he went to the ice early to look at the No. 19 banner.
“I went out and looked at it before. I’ve talked about how special he was for me and the whole city and the team. I missed the event, but my family was here,” Burns told reporters after morning skate. “Getting out there is to see Marleau and Jumbo’s [banners] is special. They both meant a lot to me in helping me come along. It’s fun to fun to see those guys up there.”
Burns told reporters he spent time at Thornton’s house last night and spent time with Macklin Celebrini.
“He’s a great guy. You can tell he’s got a great head on his shoulders. His on-ice performance speaks for itself. He’s a special player,” Burns said. “It was fun to hang out and just chat. Talk about the old times. I’m sure he’s thinking, What is going on with these two old guys? We need him to bring the average age down.”
Burns has 22 points (five goals, 18 assists) and averages 21:28 of ice time a night.
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