NHL Star Shocks Fans With Unrecognizable New Look
He said goodbye to his legendary beard and hello to three new teeth.
Harry How/Getty Images
The most famous beard in the National Hockey League has been abandoned.
The Colorado Avalanche’s Brent Burns debuted an entirely new look ahead of his 23rd NHL season. The transformation was so dramatic that fans deemed the 41-year-old defenseman completely unrecognizable after he shaved his beard and got a fresh set of teeth.
The Denver-based Canadian has grown out his beard since 2014. It has become so famous that fans make signs and puns about it. For over a decade, his signature look has also included a wide smile with three missing front teeth.
Brent Burns's signature look included a scruffy beard, slicked-back hair, and missing front teeth for much of his career. Pictured here in November 2025.
Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
On Wednesday, Sept. 17, Burns arrived at the Colorado Avalanche media day with his signature scruffy beard trimmed short and a full set of teeth. To complete the transformation, he cut his neck-length hair, which he typically slicks back, shorter on top and buzzed the sides.
A photo of Brent Burns posted by Bailey Curtis went viral on X after fans struggled to recognize the popular ice hockey player.
Courtesy of Bailey Curtis
Colorado Avalanche reporter Bailey Curtis posted a photo of the look on X, and fans quickly filled the comments calling the transformation “witchcraft.”
Some even questioned whether the father of two had undergone plastic surgery.
Brent Burns shocked fans with his new look.
Instagram/Colorado Avalanche
“I genuinely refuse to believe that this is Brent Burns,” one person wrote on X.
Another shared the same sentiment: “He looks great, but if you showed me this, I would NEVER have thought it was Brent.”
Fans have long associated Brent Burns with his long beard. Pictured is a fan holding up a sign in April 2026 during a Colorado Avalanche game in Denver, Colorado.
Isaiah J. Downing/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Many agreed that Burns looked 10 years younger, a few calling him Benjamin Button after the fictional character who ages backward.
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Some even wrote that Burns looked like his rookie-year self, from when the Minnesota Wild drafted him in 2003. Back then, Burns preferred a shaved look.
The seasoned player has since won gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2017, presented to the NHL’s best defenseman, among other achievements.
Some commenters said Brent Burns’s new look took him back to his rookie year. Pictured here in December 2003.
Andrew Wallace/REUTERS
Most people thought the transformation was positive.
“Hot Brent Burns was NOT on my bingo card for this season & I don’t know how to feel. I refuse to believe this is actually him,“ one person wrote on X.
But others mourned the change. “RIP to the best hockey beard in the NHL,” one fan wrote.
Burns’ team also posted a photo of his new look on the Colorado Avalanche Instagram stories. The snap read, “Burns with the fresh look.”
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