Brent Burns named to 2018 NHL All-Star Game

For a fourth consecutive year, Brent Burns will be representing the San Jose Sharks at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. This is his fifth ever visit to the games, including 2011 with the Minnesota Wild.

Per the release:

Burns, 32, currently ranks tied for sixth in points (30), tied for seventh in assists (23), and tied for eighth in goals (7) amongst NHL defensemen. More so, since November 22, he leads all NHL defensemen in points (23) and is second in both assists (18) and goals (7) during that span. Burns is currently tied for fourth amongst all NHL skaters in shots (172), and leads the Sharks in points, assists, and time on ice, averaging 25:19 per game.

It comes as little surprise, following Burns’ first ever Norris Trophy win for best all-around defenseman this summer. Prior to the start of the 2016 season, he competed at the World Cup of Hockey, where he was a member of the gold medal winning Team Canada. In 919 career games, the offensively driven defenseman has totaled 177 goals and 352 assists to combine for 529 points.

Last year, he attended with the company of Joe Pavelski, Martin Jones, and Pete DeBoer. Pavelski also accompanied Burns in 2016. It will be the first time since 2015 that he has attended the ASG alone.

The All-Star Game will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on January 28, with festivities starting January 26. Here’s the full roster:

Atlantic Division (All-Star appearance)

F Aleksander Barkov, FLA (1st)
F Jack Eichel, BUF (1st)
F Nikita Kucherov, TBL (2nd)
F Brad Marchand, BOS (2nd)
F Auston Matthews, TOR (2nd)
F Steven Stamkos, TBL* (5th)
D Mike Green, DET (2nd)
D Victor Hedman, TBL (2nd)
D Erik Karlsson, OTT (5th)
G Carey Price, MTL (6th)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (1st)

Head Coach: Jon Cooper, TBL (1st)

Metropolitan Division (All-Star appearance)

F Josh Bailey, NYI (1st)
F Sidney Crosby, PIT (3rd)
F Claude Giroux, PHI (5th)
F Taylor Hall, NJD (3rd)
F Alex Ovechkin, WSH* (7th)
F John Tavares, NYI (5th)
D Noah Hanifin, CAR (1st)
D Seth Jones, CBJ (2nd)
D Kris Letang, PIT (4th)
G Braden Holtby, WSH (3rd)
G Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (4th)

Head Coach: Barry Trotz, WSH (3rd)

Central Division (All-Star appearance)

F Patrick Kane, CHI (7th)
F Nathan MacKinnon, COL (2nd)
F Brayden Schenn, STL (1st)
F Tyler Seguin, DAL (5th)
F Eric Staal, MIN (5th)
F Blake Wheeler, WPG (1st)
D John Klingberg, DAL (1st)
D Alex Pietrangelo, STL (1st)
D P.K. Subban, NSH* (3rd)
G Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (1st)
G Pekka Rinne, NSH (2nd)

Head Coach: Peter Laviolette, NSH (3rd)

Pacific Division (All-Star appearance)

F Brock Boeser, VAN (1st)
F Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (4th)
F Anze Kopitar, LAK (4th)
F Connor McDavid, EDM* (2nd)
F James Neal, VGK (3rd)
F Rickard Rakell, ANA (1st)
D Brent Burns, SJS (5th)
D Drew Doughty, LAK (4th)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (2nd)
G Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK (3rd)
G Jonathan Quick, LAK (3rd)

Head Coach: Gerard Gallant, VGK (2nd)

* Fan-elected captain