Sharks defenseman Brent Burns is putting together a goal-scoring campaign the NHL hasn't seen in more than three decades.
With two goals in the Sharks' 4-1 win Saturday over the Coyotes, Burns raised his season total to 27, putting him on pace to finish the season with 37. No defenseman has done that since Paul Coffey scored 48 goals with the Oilers in the 1985‑86 season.
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In this era of historically low scoring, Burns' numbers would be impressive for even the top forwards in the NHL, let alone a 6-6, 230-pound defenseman who logs 24 minutes of ice time a night and spends a majority of his offensive zone time almost 60 feet away from the goal.
Here's a breakdown of Burns' season and career from a statistical perspective:
He's chasing the greats
If Burns continues his current pace, he'll finish tied with fifth-most goals by a defenseman in a season all time. Burns also in on pace for 87 points, which would be the most by a defenseman since Brian Leetch of the Rangers had 88 in 1990-91
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He'd be one of just three defensemen ever to score 35 or more goals and have 50 or more assists since Coffey did it with the Oilers in 1985-86.
He's a road warrior
Burns had a 14-game road scoring streak end Thursday in Boston. It was the longest such streak for a defenseman since Coffey's 15-game road scoring streak in 1995, according to Sharks stats guru Darin Stephens.
During Burns' road tear, he scored a goal in eight straight games, an NHL record for a defenseman.
Burns finished with 10 goals, 13 assists, 23 points and seven multipoint games. The Sharks went 9-4-1 in those 14 games.
Burns has 74 road points since the start of the 2015-16 season. Only Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks (78) has more.
The majority of the league doesn't measure up
To put Burns' scoring ability in perspective, his 27 goals are more than 20 NHL teams have from their defensemen. The Sabres have just 10 goals from defensemen in nearly 7,069 combined man minutes. The Sharks as a team lead the NHL with 42 goals from defensemen. The Predators are second with 33 apiece.
He's among the NHL's best scorers, period
Burns is among the league' scoring leaders, regardless of position. With 59 points, he's third in the NHL, trailing only the Oilers' Connor McDavid (67), the Penguins' Sidney Crosby (65) and the Capitals' Nicklas Backstrom (60). No defenseman has led the league in scoring since Bobby Orr (135 points) did it in 1974-75.
He's a near-lock to win the Norris Trophy, given to the league's most outstanding defenseman. He has a shot to win the Hart Trophy, given to the league's most valuable player. A defenseman hasn't won the Hart Trophy since Chris Pronger won it with the Blues in 1999-2000.
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He's rewriting franchise history
Burns is on pace to break team records he set in 2015-16 for goals (27) and points (75) in a season by a defenseman. In just six seasons with San Jose, Burns holds the franchise's career records for goals (113) and points (304) by a defenseman, and is third in assists (191).
He's not a pure defenseman
Burns spent parts of two seasons as a top-six power forward. He played mostly right wing in juniors but moved to defense with the Wild during the 2003-04 season. He even played some games as a forward with the Sharks in 2013 before moving back to defense the following fall.
Some players move between positions because they aren't skilled enough to play forward but have the size, strength and long reach to move to the back end. Burns is more than qualified to play forward. Sure, he's massive, but he can skate with the best of 'em, and his vision and skill with the puck rival that of many NHL forwards.
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Other players who have excelled at forward and defense include Dustin Byfuglien and Sergei Fedorov, but the list is short.
Unlike Byfuglien, who started his NHL career as a power forward in Chicago before switching to defense with the Thrashers, Burns' best offensive seasons have come as a defenseman rather than as a forward.
He's a late bloomer
This has a lot to do with Burns going back and forth between forward and defense, but he didn't start to make a serious offensive impact until he was 28, his 10th NHL season.
After scoring just nine goals in 2012-13, he jumped to 22 in 69 games in 2013-14. He has been on a statistical climb ever since.
Burns has 44 multipoint games since the start of the 2015-16 season, most in the NHL. Crosby is second with 43 multipoint games.
His emergence has lifted the Sharks
Burns' production last season was a big reason why the Sharks advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. He had two multigoal games in the postseason, making him one of just 11 defensemen in NHL history to do that in the same postseason, and the first to do it since Rob Blake of the Avalanche 15 years ago.
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He's leading the Sharks again this season with his stellar play. San Jose is second in the Western Conference and first in the Pacific Division with a 35-18-7 record.
Burns is having himself a season for the ages. If he keeps it up, we'll be talking it for years to come.