Brent Burns Making a Strong Case to Join Rare Club of Hart Trophy-Winning D-Men

DENVER — Brent Burns should win the Hart Trophy.

Forget just the Norris Trophy, as the NHL's best defenseman. Burns has that one already in the bag—in his case, the camouflaged, overstuffed one he always carries on his back to and from the rink. Yeah, there's plenty of hockey still to be played, but the gap-toothed, woolly-haired veteran isn't just having a personal-best kind of season; he's having one of the best seasons of anyone at the position in a long, long time.

If the voting were held today, he would make an overwhelming case for being the league's most valuable player and the first defenseman to do it since Chris Pronger with St. Louis in 1999-2000 and the second since Bobby Orr with Boston in 1971-72.

Earlier this season, San Jose teammate and fellow grizzly-bearded veteran Joe Thornton told reporters, via the Sharks' Twitter feed, that Burns was the "best player in the world." Monday morning, after the Sharks' skate-around at the Pepsi Center, where San Jose would play Colorado later that night, Thornton made the proclamation with even more conviction.

"It's just a fact. That's what I believe," said Thornton, 37. "I mean, I see the guy every day. The way he plays, who he plays against, the minutes he plays while doing it. I mean, I haven't seen it before. He's the best player in the game right now."

Burns, 31, looks like he would bask in such praise and court the notoriety. Everything about him screams "Look at me," after all, with his wild beard and head-to-toe tattoos and a wardrobe that consists of bright-colored suits and plenty of camo garb. But the real Burns is quite shy, and too many questions about himself make him start to squirm. 

"Aww, that's not for me to say. There's just so many great players in this league," said Burns, when asked his thoughts on statements such as the one by Thornton. "But, I mean, having that come from a guy like Jumbo, it's certainly nice. Just to be able to play with guys like him and Patty [Marleau] and Pavs [Joe Pavelski]. You just see how those guys get ready and prepare, and I've learned a lot from them."

Rocky W. Widner/Getty Images

The numbers to this point, however, make a compelling case that Burns is the best all-around player in the league. Entering Wednesday, Burns not only led all defensemen in scoring, but his 51 points (21 goals) were just five points off the league lead of Edmonton's Connor McDavid and fourth overall. His average ice time per game (24:56) was tied for 10th overall. His plus-16 leads the Sharks and is among the top 25 in the league. 

Burns has more proving to do before getting a Hart, at least to one NHL analyst, Ray Ferraro of TSN and NBC. But not much more.

"He is the winner of the Norris, by a mile," Ferraro said. "But I think I would have to go with McDavid for the Hart. My top three for that trophy, right now, would be McDavid, followed by Burns and [Sidney] Crosby."

For now, No. 2 on anybody's Hart list isn't bad. Burns has top numbers at both ends, despite logging heavy time against opposing top forwards and a freewheeling offensive game that often has him circling the opposing net with the puck, not just hanging back at the blue line.

"He's been as dominant a player as I've coached, at both directions," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "I think it's underestimated, his defensive game. And people know what he means to us offensively. He's having an exceptional year."

Cynics might have wondered just how good this season would go for Burns. This is the first of an eight-year, $64 million extension he signed in November, and history is full of players who seemed to take it easy at the start of a new, long-term deal. Burns, who posted 75 points in 82 regular-season games and 24 more points in the playoffs that finished with a six-game series defeat to Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Final, has gotten even better despite his set-for-life financial security.

"I just don't think many guys in this league are built to take it easy," Burns said. "If anything, I think it's the other way around. But I do think what happens when you sign a deal like I did: You don't really think about personal stats anymore. You just want to win. Otherwise, and especially if you have a family and stuff like that, yeah, you can think about contract stuff."

Burns quickly gives the credit to others, starting with veteran defensive partner Paul Martin, who "makes things so much easier for me out there," and especially to Sharks assistant coach Bob Boughner, a longtime former NHL defenseman who was a finalist for the Colorado Avalanche head coaching job last summer. The Sharks do not allow assistant coaches to talk with the media (as is widely the case throughout the league), so it's difficult to discern just what Boughner did to help Burns get to a superstar level after many years of mediocre defensive numbers, which for one season (2013-14) led the Sharks to play him full-time at forward. 

Martin, though, told CSN Bay Area's Kevin Kurz that under Boughner, "He let Brent play more," which might be code for, "He let him use his full creative talents" more than under previous defensive coach Jim Johnson and head coach Todd McLellan. Burns might make the occasional defensive positioning mistake with a perpetual green light to jump into the attack, but Boughner and DeBoer seemingly came to the realization that the benefits far outweigh the risks.

When Wilson made a change with DeBoer replacing McLellan before the 2015-16 season, he seemed to endorse the idea of giving Burns more offensive freedom from the back end. That, in turn, seemed to give Burns the confidence to finally be himself on the ice. No more trips to the principal's office over one mistake.

"I think it really started, for me, with [general manager] Doug [Wilson], when he brought me here [in 2011]. It's been just such an asset to have a guy like him at the top," Burns said. "He was an elite D-man himself."

Burns mentions his family a lot. He and his wife Susan have two young children, daughter Peyton, six, and son Jagger, five. He sounds as dedicated to their lives as possible, but Burns acknowledges he has had to be selfish to his own career advancement at times. He is an evangelist for nutrition and fitness, which accounts for the bulk of paraphernalia in his camo bag, including a blender and lots of food supplements. He will regularly go on 15- to 30-mile bike rides with the full camo bag on his back whenever he feels his body needs an extra push.

Sanford Myers/Getty Images

"So much is made of staying in shape, even in the summer. And you give so much to do that. I think it's always hard to balance that. Do I go to my kids' every game in every sport, or do I stay home and do recovery stuff?" Burns said. "It's just hard. I really envy guys who I see do that. I look at Patty Marleau, and how unreal of a dad he is, with four boys, and he's at the rink all the time with them. To me, I have a hard time doing that, because I'm always worried about not feeling good the next day."

After the morning skate Monday, Burns made plans with Thornton to have an exotic, Rocky Mountain lunch. Elk meat, his new favorite food, would be on Burns' menu. It must have agreed with him, as Burns later scored a goal and assisted on two others in the Sharks' 5-2 win over the Avalanche, the team's fifth straight.

Thornton was asked if maybe his "world's best player" statement might put too much pressure on Burns to handle.

"Oh no, I don't think so. His confidence is high. I think, coming off of last year, he's just kept elevating his game. It's fun to watch," Thornton said.

Munching on a slice of New York-style pizza from local Denver favorite Anthony's after the win over Colorado, Burns eschews any questions about himself in favor of lavishing praise on teammate Marleau, who scored four goals—all in the third period.

"I mean, he's a legend with this team," Burns said. "If I ever get four goals in one period, then you can really write something about me."

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report.