Colorado's Brent Burns has joined an exclusive NHL club. The 41-year-old defenseman just reached the benchmark of consistentcy joining legend Phil Kessel.

Burns has now played 1000 consecutive regular-season games. He reached the milestone during Colorado's 2-0 shutout win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.

He has now become only the second NFL player, after American star Phil Kessel, to reach a thousand consecutive games. He is Brent Burns is also the defenseman to equal to match Kessel's feat.

The 41-year-old has played every regular-season game since November 21, 2013. His 1000th consecutive regular-season game came against the Dallas Stars on April 04, 2026.

From November 2013 till now, he has played for the San Jose Sharks (2012-2022), Carolina Hurricanes (2022-2025), and the Colorado Avalanche (2025-26). 

Burns' milestone underscores the incredible durability required to play at an elite level for so long.

Brent Burns Continues to Defy Age With Multiple Historic Milestones

Brent Burns is in his first season with the Avalanche. He has scored 11 goals this season. The Avalanche became only the second defenceman to score 10+ goals in a season after turning 40. 

The 41-year-old completed his 1500 regular-season games in October last year. The game against the Stars was his 1572nd regular-season game. His team won that game 2-0 and is at the top of the standings in the Central (Western) Division. 

His peak physical conditioning has been the key factor in his consistency. Meanwhile, Kessel still holds the all-time NHL record for consecutive games played, finishing his streak at 1,064 games.

Kessel featured in all regular-season games from November 09, 2009, to April 13, 2023. In that period, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs (2009-2015), the Pittsburgh Penguins (2015-2019), the Arizona Coyotes (2019-2022), and the Vegas Golden Knights (2022-23). 

Do you think Brent Bruns will be able to equal or even surpass Kessel's record? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi