Investigating the Possibility of Trading Brent Burns

I love Brent Burns. I loved him being on the blue-line. After all, no one else can contribute offense from the back end as much as Burns can. He’s even making a run for the coolest guy in the NHL.

Besides, Burns was doing well on defense right? He was the best defenseman at the World Championships last year, and with a dependable partner in Paul Martin he was supposed to take another step forward. This was all confirmed when he was named an all-star. Needless to say, I was on board with Burns playing defense.

Then I saw this happen.

As much as you might hate it, look at that goal.

What do you see?

This was the infamous goal Joel Ward receives all the blame for. I mean who doesn’t check that the puck has left the defensive zone before firing the puck into a black hole (or trap)?

Now look at this goal 10 more times.

Notice a guy diving for the puck when he is the only man back? Guess who that is. That’s right, while defending a two-on-one, Burns abandoned his position to dive for the puck when he could have tied up the goal-scorer and prevented the goal from happening. Instead, he skated right by his assignment because he was mesmerized by the puck.

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That goal was the last straw.

As of that goal I no longer support Brent Burns playing defense for the San Jose Sharks. I can’t continue to endorse his style of defense. I can’t stand any player that is willing to lie down on their stomach and let opponents skate around them, especially one that does it repeatedly. After seeing multiple years of this style of play, I want change.

Now I’m not the only one that has noticed this. Jacques Lemaire, Burns’ former coach with the Minnesota Wild, noticed this too and beat those tendencies out of him. That type of coaching made Burns into a reliable defenseman the Sharks thought they were acquiring.

Unfortunately, the Sharks don’t seem to possess that type of basic coaching capacity. Peter DeBoer could tell Burns he is putting himself out of position there. But is the message being heard when these types of plays happen time and again? So maybe he needs to accommodate a position that doesn’t require as much defensive responsibility.

I know what you’re thinking. I wish I was writing another Burns to forward article. The Sharks are never putting Burns at forward because there’s no one else to play defense in San Jose. So what are the other options? The only one I can think of is to trade him.

While Burns is one of the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, the amount of goals he is responsible for in exchange does not make him valuable. So you have an all-star defenseman that should garner interest around the NHL due to public perception, surely there will be buyers. The problem that arises in a potential Burns trade is the no-trade clause but with his contract expiring next year, I can foresee a scenario where Burns leaves San Jose.

When that happens the Sharks will be better off for it. Fans questioning this move should look at the team that swept the Vancouver Canucks in 2013. That team almost missed the playoffs had they not remove Burns from the blue-line.

Next: Pavelski, Burns Named As All-Stars

The Sharks could take the easy route and teach Burns how to play defense. However, such a simple task might be too much to ask for at this point. I would hate to see Burns traded but something has to change. Maybe trading a popular guy in the locker room will give the Sharks the kick they need to make the playoffs.

Not a single asset on the Sharks should be considered untouchable and trading Burns could be beneficial for the Sharks.