It's not normal to actually sit and ponder the merit of re-signing a 40-year-old defenseman, but Brent Burns is a special case.

The veteran defenseman continues to be one of the game's all-time greats and he's honestly a modern marvel given the way he's been able to upkeep himself and his body.

While he's not the same player he was even three years ago, Burns has still managed to adapt his game and remain capable of playing at a high-level and that was especially apparent in these playoffs.

While there were dips here and there in Burns' regular season performance, he really showed his mettle in the postseason.

In 263:25 of 5v5 ice time, Burns was on the ice for just six goals against, an average of just 1.37 goals against per 60 minutes.

In fact, four of those goals against came in the team's first-round series against the New Jersey Devils.

Burns did not allow a single goal 5v5 while he was on the ice in the entire series against the Washington Capitals and was only on the ice for two goals against in the Florida Panthers series that saw substantial blowouts.

He and partner Jaccob Slavin had the third most minutes together out of any other pair this past postseason, and even while facing the toughest competition night in and night out, they still managed to control a 53.78 CF% and outscore opponents 8-6.

Burns has come a long way in adapting his game to a more defensively-minded one and that's been especially apparent on the penalty kill.

The veteran blueliner had the 11th best GA/60 (4.9) amongst all defensemen in the league this past season to play at least 100 minutes on the PK (Burns played 195:54).

He also had the 8th best high danger chances against per 60 (18.07) and the 6th best high danger goals against per 60 (1.53) too.

Burns was also on the ice for five of Carolina's 10 total shorthanded goals.

"We had the best penalty kill in the National Hockey League and [Burns] is a big part of that," said coach Rod Brind'Amour in his end of season interview. "I don't think that was something that you would have said 10 years ago was up his alley, you know? So he's figuring that out."

Burns had potentially the hardest deployment in the league this year, with PuckIQ calculating that he spent about 42.3% of his minutes against 'elite' competition this season, more than every other defenseman other than Slavin (42.7%).

There's no denying the fact that that is an extremely difficult circumstance to adapt to.

"It was definitely a different challenge," Burns said in his end of season interview. "In the past, offensively, I was counted on a lot more. And you're playing against top guys those nights too, but I think when you're playing against those guys every night, if you make one mistake, it's a grade-A and it's a solid chance that they're scoring. So, the mindset definitely shifts to obviously trying not to give up anything, because if you do, it's gonna be scary. So, yeah, that affects the offense a lot. It was a great challenge. I loved it. It was fun. A little different, but it was a great challenge."

As can be expected from a challenge like that though, the on-ice results weren't as strong for Burns as in previous years, as he allowed 2.78 goals against per 60 at 5v5, well near the bottom of the league for defensemen who played at least 500 even-strength minutes this season.

The veteran was also the middle of the road for high-danger chances against per 60 (10.86) and again near the bottom for high-danger goals against per 60 (1.44).

However, perhaps part of that can also be attributed to the Hurricanes' surprisingly weak regular season goaltending as the netminders had just a 0.893 even-strength save percentage while Burns was on the ice.

Burns' ability to contribute offensively was always one of his best traits, with the blueliner having had 13 seasons with double-digit goals (three over 20 goals) and 30+ points (six with over 60 points).

This past season however was the first time since the COVID-shortened year that Burns did not break either of those thresholds and before that, the last time was when he played less than half of a season due to injury in 2012-13.

The veteran's offense has drastically fallen off and another big indicator for that is his struggles with getting pucks to the net.

Burns' shot has always been heralded for being quick and powerful, able to find its way through traffic with ease, but in each of the last two seasons, Burns has failed to break the 200 SOG mark, a threshold he had frequently surpassed.

This was also Burns' worst season on the power play, with just three total points in nearly 139 minutes of PP time.

In fact, Burns' 1.39 goals per 60 was the worst mark out of any power play quarterback with at least 50 minutes of PP time this season.

He was also on the ice for four shorthanded goals against, meaning that he was even in terms of goals scored in his power play time this year.

While his offensive production has certainly taken a hit, the fact of the matter is that he's still an effective offensive generator.

The veteran had the 8th best Corsi For Percentage amongst all league defensemen (57.84%) -- though to be fair, every other Canes defensemen had a better percentage than him and only Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard had a better rate outside of his own teammates.

Burns also had the highest rate per 60 for chances (73.76) and the fourth highest rate for expected goals (3.15), high-danger chances (13.68) and high-danger goals (1.81).

"Yeah, the older you get, sure you're going to slow down a little bit, but, I mean, I think he did a great job this year, and I think he's kind of learning too how to change his game a little," Brind'Amour said.

It's also no secret that both sides would love to figure something out.

For one, Brind'Amour is unapologetically a huge fan of the defenseman.

"I love the guy for a lot of reasons, not just the hockey side of things and what you see, but just the way he handles himself on and off the ice," Brind'Amour said. "I can't say enough good things about him. ... He's been everything we could have asked for and I think it was one of the better acquisitions we've made in recent memory, that's for sure."

Burns too is a fan of the organization, the city and everything else that Carolina has to offer.

"This is a really special place," Burns said. "I've said it before and I think I've said it every year, because it's true. I was really blessed to play in three great places, but Raleigh is really special. ... We love it here and would love for it to work out."

Has Brent Burns Actually Been a Burden For The Carolina Hurricanes? Well, No. Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns has been the focus of a good amount of ire as of late.

The biggest question really, for me, is if signing him would block the way for acquiring a true top-pair defenseman.

Currently, the Canes have five defensemen under contract who look poised for significant roles.

The four returnees from last year's group + Alexander Nikishin.

I'm not 100% sold on Scott Morrow being ready to be an NHL regular, but I feel confident that Nikishin will be.

So that leaves just one spot on the blueline and there's a definite need for a top-pairing, right-handed defender.

While you could argue that a depth role for Burns could see him come in and out of the lineup when needed, but I don't see that working out mostly due to his ironman streak. 

The veteran blueliner currently holds the 4th longest consecutive games played streak in NHL history (925) and he's only 39 games back of 3rd, 74 games back of 2nd and 139 games back of 1st.

If he's signing somewhere, it's so he can play and he's fully capable of playing.

But I just don't know if the space is necessarily there for the Canes to bring him back unless another defenseman is shipped out in a trade.

Regardless of that though, it's clear to me that Burns is still a very capable player who can be a contributor on most any team, even Carolina.

"Obviously, the business and all that comes into play, but I'd love to have him back," Brind'Amour said.

Numbers and stats courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com

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