Brent Burns became only the sixth San Jose Sharks player to win an individual NHL award when he was deservedly recognized with the NHL Foundation Award. The NHL Foundation Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player “who applies the core values of (ice) hockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork—to enrich the lives of people in his community.” Burns was the right person to win this nomination for all the work he has done over the past several years with numerous organizations and charities.
More From History
There are only a handful of cases when a Sharks player has won any sort of individual NHL hardware: Burns won the NHL Foundation Award this year, Jonathan Cheechoo won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in 2006, that same year Joe Thornton got his hands on both the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Memorial Trophy, Evgeni Nabokov was recognized as the best rookie for the 2000–01 season when he received the Calder Memorial Trophy, and the first ever individual accolade in Sharks history went to Tony Granato in 1997 when he won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.