The NHL won't be ready for Brent Burns' stunning new role in Colorado
Photo credit: Christopher Hennessy / Clutch Points
The Colorado Avalanche did not have the busiest offseason, but they managed to acquire veteran defenseman Brent Burns, and while many don't expect much from him, recent reports claim he will play a big role in making life easier for Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
Burns aims to take pressure off Colorado's two star defensemen, especially when we talk about special teams.
Burns will play key role on penalty kill and power play for the Avalanche.
Katie Barlett of Mile High Sticking discussed the importance of Brent Burns for the Colorado Avalanche entering this season. His main role will be to allow Makar and Toews to catch their breath throughout the year.
"Cale Makar has averaged the second-most ice time per game among all NHL skaters with 25 minutes and 33 seconds per game. Devon Toews is thirteenth with an average of 24 minutes and 21 seconds per game. With this upcoming season including the added games for the Winter Olympics, it is going to be imperative that the Colorado Avalanche and head coach Jared Bednar not overextend their two star defensemen and have them worn out and/or injury-prone at the start of the playoffs" -Barlett
Burns can give the team crucial rest in two key areas: the penalty kill and the power play. He'll slot in on the second unit for both, bringing his experience as a power-play quarterback and a penalty-kill anchor.
"Burns can step in on the second unit in place of Toews and shave some time off of his plate. According to HockeyViz, Toews averaged just over a minute of power play time per game. By taking over the PP2 quarterback spot, Burns would bring his experience and his big shot to give that second unit a different look and some added punch." -Barlett
The biggest question mark for Burns concerns his 5-on-5 time. He is getting up there in age and the speed of the game will start to expose him. He was never the best skater, and often relied on his long reach to make defensive plays.
On a team as risk-taking as the Avalanche, we could start to see more mistakes from Burns.
Regardless if head coach Jared Bednar uses Burns correctly, it can prove to make immeasurable benefits for Makar, Toews, and the rest of the Avalanche moving forward.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 15 | 31 ANSWERS The NHL won't be ready for Brent Burns' stunning new role in Colorado Will Brent Burns score 30 points this season? | ||
| yes | 24 | 77.4 % |
| no | 7 | 22.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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