Burns on Hanging With Thornton, Celebrini

Brent Burns didn’t want to talk about it.

On Thursday night, when the Carolina Hurricanes step on the ice against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center, Burns will play his 911th consecutive game, the fifth-longest streak in NHL history, passing ex-Sharks teammate Patrick Marleau.

But Burns, whether because of superstition or the typical hockey player’s penchant to not want to talk about himself, brushed off the question.

That, of course, doesn’t diminish the accomplishment.

It’s always special to see Burns in San Jose, where the 40-year-old became a superstar. From 2015 to 2019, Burns was the most productive defenseman in the NHL, his 84 goals and 217 assists and 301 points pacing the league. He won the Norris Trophy in 2017 and was a finalist two other times in that four-season span.

And three years since the Sharks traded him to the Hurricanes, Burns keeps ticking, 17 games away from 1,500 in his career, and 153 from Phil Kessel’s record iron man streak of 1,064.

But like I said, Burns didn’t want to talk about it.

He was, however, more than happy to talk about his old San Jose Sharks teammates, especially Marleau and Joe Thornton, whose jerseys are retired at SAP Center, Marleau in 2023 and Thornton this season.

“I went out and looked at it before,” he said, of seeing No. 12 and 19 hanging in the rafters. “Getting out there to see Patty’s and Jumbo’s is special. They both meant a lot to me and helped me come along.”

Burns actually spent Wednesday at Thornton’s house. Also there? Jumbo’s 18-year-old housemate, Macklin Celebrini.

“It was fun to hang out and chat and talk about the old times. I’m sure he was thinking, ‘What is going on with these two old guys here?’” Burns laughed. “We need him to bring the average age down.”

Famously, Brent Burns was a huge part of bringing Celebrini to San Jose for the first time….in 2019. In the summer of 2018, Celebrini’s father, Rick Celebrini was choosing between job offers from the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. It came down to where 12-year-old Macklin and older brother Aidan could advance their hockey careers.

Burns, who was a client of the now-Warriors director of sports medicine and performance, recommended the Jr. Sharks, where his son Jagger was also playing.

“It’s fun to see those kids, I’ve seen them play in a couple of different states now, running into them,” Burns said of the Jr. Sharks. “It’s just great, it’s fun, everything about the area and organization. It really is great. It’s fun to come back and see old faces, and it was a special group—just a lot of great people around, and that was part of it.”

And for sure, the rebuilding San Jose Sharks are in good hands with Celebrini.

“He’s a great guy. You can tell he’s got a great head on his shoulders,” Burns said. “Obviously, the on-ice performance speaks for itself, he’s a special player.”