Brent Burns now holds seventh place on the list of goals by defensemen. Steph Chambers / Getty Images
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns scored the 271st goal of his career Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, passing Bobby Orr for seventh place on the list of most goals by an NHL defenseman.
The goal came with 5:39 remaining in the first period, on a shot from the blue line that beat Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs, with assists from Gavin Brindley and Josh Manson.
Pucks on net 🏒 pic.twitter.com/CIj3A34iZn
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 17, 2026
Burns caught Orr with longevity, taking 1,563 games to pass the total Orr set in only 657 games. Burns is now 17 goals behind Larry Murphy for sixth place among blueliners and 39 behind Denis Potvin for fifth place. Ray Bourque holds the record with 410 goals.
There’s a potential caveat. For part of Burns’ career — including early on with the Minnesota Wild — he was a hybrid player who took shifts at right wing.
After a request for clarification from the NHL Stats department, a statement was issued: “Given the irregularity of his time at forward/defense throughout parts of his career, we treat Burns solely as a defenseman. The only games that show Burns as a forward in the data are his games during the 2013-14 regular season and playoffs with the Sharks.”
Most career goals by NHL defensemen
Ray Bourque
410
Paul Coffey
396
Al MacInnis
340
Phil Housley
338
Denis Potvin
310
Larry Murphy
288
Brent Burns
271
Bobby Orr
270
Burns, a first-round pick by Minnesota in 2003, won the Norris Trophy in 2017 and was a finalist for the award in 2016 and 2019. His 271 goals are 47 more than any other defenseman since he entered the NHL, and 172 of them were scored during his 11 seasons with the San Jose Sharks.
It was Burns’ 10th goal of the season and marked the 14th time he has reached double-digit goals in his 22-year NHL career. The 41-year-old has been one of the best offensive defensemen in the league over the past two decades.
Burns’ 937 career points are the 11th most by a defenseman. He needs 12 points to pass Chris Chelios and enter the top 10. Burns is also chasing Phil Kessel’s all-time ironman streak. Burns has played in 990 consecutive games and is the closest player to Kessel’s record of 1,064 consecutive games. Burns would need to keep the streak going into the second half of next season to pass Kessel.
Mar 19, 2026
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