3 Landing Spots For Brent Burns In Free Agency

Carolina Hurricanes' veteran Brent Burns doesn't appear to want to end his playing career just yet despite being 40 years old. His contract with the Hurricanes ends this year and he is set to become a free agent. There isn't a good chance Carolina brings him back because the team recently brought over Alexander Nikishin and have Scott Morrow coming in to fill spots full time.

Right-shot defensemen are more rare in the NHL, so Burns shouldn't have a tough time finding a place to play. Many will say that he is still in great shape and can easily continue to play in the NHL. He logged a sliver under 21 minutes per game this season including both time on the power play and penalty kill.

Burns' offensive production finally dropped more than what the Hurricanes would have hoped for, but that's because he wasn't on the top power play since power-play specialist Shayne Gostisbehere was brought in. So where could the man approaching the iron man streak play next season?

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup Final once again, but they could be losing some pieces this offseason. On defense, Aaron Ekblad and Nate Schmidt could both be headed to free agency, so that creates a pretty big need. Seth Jones is there to take over top pairing duties on the right side, but the bottom two pairings will need bolstering. Burns can still play in the top-4 and perform as I noted he logged 21 minutes per game this season. The Panthers will be able to sign him for cheaper and on a short-term deal with a very good chance at going deep in the playoffs.

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators also have a hole on the right side that should be filled. Travis Hamonic won't be back and Nicolas Matinpalo could be a seventh defenseman on the team. Carter Yakemchuk is also not yet ready, so a short-term deal to Burns could help out a lot. Nick Jensen's contract expires at the end of next season, so there will be room to work after that. Ottawa was a playoff team and another chance at Burns finally lifting the Stanley Cup with a bit of a reduced role.

Seattle Kraken

While signing with a competitive team is more likely because Burns doesn't have a Stanley Cup yet, he's more likely to get everyday playing time on a team like the Seattle Kraken with a hole on the right side to fill rather than a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning where he could sit some games. It all depends on what options are available to him and what he prefers. On the Kraken, Burns would be a much better third pairing d-man than either Cale Fleury or Josh Mahura, so it would be a no-brainer for Seattle to sign the veteran to help get them closer to getting back into the playoffs.