Grizzled Brent Burns is lone former Houston Aero left in this year's chase for Stanley Cup

The Aeros haven’t skated on Houston ice for 13 years.

However, an alumnus of the city’s defunct hockey franchise still has a chance to win the sport’s most cherished chalice.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns, who played 74 games with the Aeros from 2004-05, is the lone former Aero still competing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avalanche begin the Western Conference final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night in Denver.

The 41-year-old Burns, in his first season with the Avalanche, is no stranger to deep playoff runs. He reached the East final in two of the previous three years with the Carolina Hurricanes and was on the San Jose Sharks‘ 2015-16 squad that lost to Pittsburgh in a six-game Stanley Cup Final.

Burns’ 1,579 regular-season games played without winning the Stanley Cup are third-most in NHL history behind former Sharks teammates Patrick Marleau (1,779) and Joe Thornton (1,714).

Burns is also the NHL’s current ironman, with 1,007 consecutive regular-season games played, a streak that dates back to November 2013. He’s 58 games away from passing Phil Kessel (1,064) for the league record, which might put off retirement even if he does win that elusive Stanley Cup.

After being drafted 20th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the first round in 2003, Burns spent one game with the Aeros the following season on a conditioning assignment, notching an assist. He then played the entire 2004-05 season with the Aeros as a lockout eventually canceled the NHL season. In 73 games during that 2004-05 season, Burns had 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) and 57 penalty minutes. He then went pointless as the Aeros lost in five games to Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.

The second round of the NHL playoffs, which concluded Monday, saw the season end for four former Aeros: Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon (Minnesota), Mikael Granlund (Anaheim) and Jason Zucker (Buffalo). Ex-Houston goalie Darcy Kuemper, who backstopped Colorado to the 2022 Stanley Cup, saw his Los Angeles squad eliminated by his former team in the first round.