Junior and minor leagues As a youth, Burrows played in the 1995
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a
minor ice hockey team from La Presqu'île, near
Montreal. Burrows played two seasons in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the
Shawinigan Cataractes, beginning in
2000–01. He recorded 16 goals and 30 points over 63 regular season games, then added three points over 10 post-season games. The
following season, he improved to 35 goals and 70 points over 64 games, third in team-scoring, behind
Jonathan Bellemare and
Jason Pominville. He went on to lead his team in post-season scoring with nine goals and 21 points in 12 games having been scouted by Moose general manager
Craig Heisinger. He appeared in two AHL games for Manitoba before being sent back down to the ECHL. Shortly after his return, he was suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount by the league for abusing officials during a game on October 24 against the
Greensboro Generals. Later on in the season, he was named to the 2004
ECHL All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference and recorded one assist. He went on to finish the season with 29 goals and 73 points, second in points among Columbia players to league-scoring champion
Tim Smith. In the subsequent off-season, Burrows was re-signed by the Moose on August 3, 2004. Following an injury to
Wade Brookbank, he was recalled on October 29, 2004. He scored his first AHL goal with the Moose five days later, a
game-winning goal against goaltender
David LeNeveu of the
Utah Grizzlies in a 2–1 win. He finished the
2004–05 season with Manitoba and posted 26 points over 72 games in a fourth-
line role.
Professional (2005–2018) Vancouver Canucks (2005–2017) Having worked his way up from the ECHL, Burrows' energetic play in the minors earned him a
two-way contract with the Moose's NHL affiliate, the
Vancouver Canucks, on November 8, 2005. He had appeared earlier in the Canucks' training camp for the 2005–06 season, but was sent back to the Moose. Eight days later, Burrows scored his first career NHL goal against
Ed Belfour of the
Toronto Maple Leafs. Establishing himself on the Canucks roster, he added his first NHL career
hat-trick on March 27, 2006, in a 7–4 win against the
Los Angeles Kings. He finished with seven goals and 12 points over 43 games in his NHL rookie campaign. Burrows' ascension to the NHL has been attributed to his hard-working and abrasive style of play, generating momentum for his team and aggravating opposing players. in March 2009|alt=An ice hockey player dressed in a blue jersey with blue and green trim. He is stretching with one knee on the ice and the other lunged forward. He rests his stick on one leg while looking forward. Burrows completed his first full campaign and second altogether with the Canucks the following season in
2006–07. He contributed primarily on the team's
penalty kill, which ranked first in the league. Burrows' average shorthanded ice time per game was second among team forwards, behind
Ryan Kesler. He struggled to produce offensively, however, and recorded a career-low three goals and nine points in 81 games. In
2007–08, Burrows formed an effective duo with centre Ryan Kesler on the third line as defensive forwards, countering opposing teams' top players while contributing offensively, as well. During the season, he was fined an undisclosed amount by the league after
spearing Detroit Red Wings forward
Aaron Downey at centre ice during the two teams' pre-game skate on February 23, 2008. He finished the campaign with 12 goals, 31 points and a team-high
plus-minus of +11 in all 82 games as the Canucks narrowly missed the playoffs as they missed the 2008 playoffs by three points. He was voted by Canucks' fans to receive the team's
Most Exciting Player Award and the
Fred J. Hume Award, given to the team's "unsung hero" as voted by the Canucks Booster Club. After remaining on the third line with Kesler at the start of the
2008–09 season, Canucks head coach
Alain Vigneault separated the two after the
All-Star break, placing Burrows on the first line with
Daniel and
Henrik Sedin, beginning on February 12, 2009, during a game against the
Phoenix Coyotes. Burrows' crash-the-net style—skating hard to the opposing team's goalmouth for rebounds or tip-ins—combined well with the Sedins'
cycling plays and as time went on, he would be labeled as the "third Sedin" as a result of the instant chemistry between Burrows and the two Sedin brothers. Vigneault's line adjustments were precipitated by a losing streak in January, which Burrows was instrumental in breaking. The Canucks' home winless streak had extended to eight games, a franchise record, when Burrows broke a 3–3 tie with a shorthanded
breakaway goal with 82 seconds remaining in a game against the
Carolina Hurricanes. This sparked a resurgence in the Canucks, spearheaded by Burrows, who then immediately followed their record setting home losing streak with a record setting home winning streak, winning their next 10 games at home. Shortly thereafter, the Canucks extended his contract with a four-year, $8 million deal on February 4, 2009, quadrupling his $525,000 salary. Burrows was not shortlisted to the final three for the award, however. Prior to the last game of the season, he received his second consecutive Most Exciting Player Award. Playing in a more offensive role on the first line for the latter part of the season, Burrows finished his breakout season with 51 points (28 goals, 31 assists) in all 82 games as the Canucks as a team had a bounce-back season having returned to the playoffs and finishing as the third seed in the West. His 28 goals broke
Andrew Brunette's mark for the most in a single season by an ECHL alumnus (27 in 2006–07). In the subsequent first round of the
2009 playoffs, Burrows scored the series-winning goal in
overtime in game four to sweep the sixth-seeded St. Louis Blues. It was his second goal of the game as he scored a goal earlier in that game, which occurred in the second period. The Canucks advanced to meet the fourth-seeded
Chicago Blackhawks in the second round, who defeated them in six games. Burrows' level of play was noticeably diminished in the Chicago series and it was revealed afterwards that he required surgery to remove bone chips in his left wrist. He finished the playoffs with three goals and an assist over 10 games. The half way into the
2009–10 season, Burrows recorded back-to-back hat tricks against the
Columbus Blue Jackets and
Phoenix Coyotes on January 5 and 7, 2010, respectively. It marked the first time an NHL player notched consecutive three-goal games since
Atlanta Thrashers forward
Ilya Kovalchuk in November 2007 and the first time a Canucks player did so since
Petri Skriko in 1986. The night of his first star of the week selection, Burrows and the Canucks played a controversial game against the
Nashville Predators. With the game tied 2–2 in the third period, Burrows was penalized twice by referee
Stéphane Auger—once for
diving and the other for
interference. The interference penalty along with an additional penalty committed by Henrik Sedin resulted in Nashville's game-winning, 5-on-3 powerplay goal late in the game. Burrows claimed that Auger told him before the January 11 game: "you made me look bad [for calling the Smithson penalty] so I'm going to get you back tonight." He went on to tell reporters that Auger "should stay out for the rest of the year making calls like that ... We just blew two points because of his officiating tonight." The following day, the NHL fined Burrows US$2,500 for publicly criticizing Auger and deemed that his claims "cannot be substantiated." Later that week, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)'s
Hockey Night in Canada telecast aired an 11-minute segment hosted by
Ron MacLean and NHL vice-president
Colin Campbell reviewing Burrows' past transgressions, spanning two years. The segment was widely criticized for being biased against Burrows and failing to illustrate both sides of the argument. Burrows' parents subsequently issued a formal letter of complaint to the CBC, accusing MacLean of "verbal assassination" and for displaying "no journalistic balance." The following Saturday after the segment aired, the Canucks refused any interviews with the CBC before, during or after their game against the Chicago Blackhawks, which was broadcast on
Hockey Night in Canada. The boycott was ordered by Canucks general manager
Mike Gillis after MacLean refused to apologize. He was not injured, however, and did not miss any games thereafter. Playing on the Canucks' top line with the Sedins, he had a breakout season as he recorded a career-high 35 goals, 32 assists, 67 points and a +34 rating in all 82 games for the third straight season and the Canucks as a team finished as the third seed in the West for the second straight season and third time in four seasons. His goals total ranked first on the Canucks. Fans voted him as recipient of the team's Most Exciting Player Award for the third consecutive season. While Burrows' offensive numbers increased from playing on the top line, the Sedins' mutually benefitted from playing with him. Daniel and Henrik had not had a constant linemate on the first line since
Anson Carter played with them in 2005–06. Since then, Vigneault had used a variety of wingers, including
Markus Näslund,
Taylor Pyatt and
Steve Bernier, to fill in the unit. In those years, Daniel and Henrik were point-a-game players; with Burrows on their line, they vaulted into top scorers in the league, as Henrik won the
Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point-getter (Daniel scored at a similar pace, but played less due to an early season injury). In the
2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canucks first line struggled to score in the playoffs, but the Canucks managed to defeat the Kings in the first round in six games. The Canucks advanced to the second round and were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks for the second consecutive year. In 12 playoff games, Burrows scored three goals and notched three assists. It was revealed in the off-season that Burrows was suffering from a shoulder injury, for which he later received surgery. Burrows appeared to bite down on Bergeron's finger while both players were pushing and shoving each other while being separated by a linesman. The incident was reviewed by the league, but was ruled unsuspendable with "no conclusive evidence that [he] intentionally bit [Bergeron's] finger." In Game 2, Burrows had a three-point night, including scoring his second overtime goal of the playoffs on Bruins goaltender
Tim Thomas. Occurring 11 seconds into the extra period, it was the second-fastest overtime goal scored in Stanley Cup Finals history; with the goal, he also tied an NHL record held by 28 other players by scoring two overtime goals in one playoff. Despite holding 2-0 and 3-2 series leads, the Canucks went on to the Bruins in seven games, losing Game 7 4–0. Burrows finished the postseason with nine goals and eight assists in 25 games. On February 21, 2012, Burrows played in his 500th NHL game in a 3–1 loss to the Nashville Predators. Burrows recorded 28 goals, 24 assists and 52 points in 80 contests through the
2011–12 season, helping Vancouver to a second consecutive Presidents' Trophy. Facing the eventual-champion Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the
2012 playoffs, they were defeated in five games. Burrows had one goal and no assists for only one point overall in all five games during the series. On March 16, 2013, Burrows scored a goal six seconds into a game against the Detroit Red Wings, setting a Canucks record for fastest goal scored to start a game. This surpassed the previous record of nine seconds set by
Trevor Linden and was also the fourth-fastest goal scored to start a game in NHL history. Burrows managed 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in the lock-out-shortened
2012–13 season, leading the team in goals. Burrows had a forgettable injury-marred
2013–14 season. On October 3, 2013, in the season opener against the San Jose Sharks where the Canucks lost the game 4–1, Burrows suffered a broken foot after blocking a shot from Sharks forward
Patrick Marleau, causing him to miss the next 12 games. On December 1, in a 3–2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, Burrows would get re-injured as he would suffer a broken jaw after getting hit in the face with the puck from a clearing attempt from teammate
Chris Tanev. This injury would require surgery and would sideline Burrows for the next 20 games. In the 49 games he played, scoring only five goals and 10 assists for 15 points and did not score his first goal of the season until game 36, where he scored two goals against the
Winnipeg Jets. His 15 points on the year were the third-lowest of his career and his lowest since 2006–07. The 2013–14 season was also forgettable for the Canucks as a whole, as they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2007–08. The
2014–15 season saw the Canucks sign free agent
Radim Vrbata, who replaced Burrows as the Sedins' primary linemate for the first half of the season. Burrows played only the second half of the season with the Sedins after playing mainly on the second line with
Chris Higgins and rookie
Bo Horvat for the first half of the season. On October 30, 2014, in a 3–2 OT win over his hometown team, the
Montreal Canadiens, Burrows delivered an illegal check to the head of Canadiens defenceman
Alexei Emelin. Despite Emelin not being injured on the play and returning to the game, Burrows was suspended for three games. Burrows ended the season tallying 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points in 70 games but then would be held without a goal and would record two assists and points in three games in the
2015 playoffs as the Canucks would lose in the opening round in six games. Despite not facing any supplemental discipline from the league after for instigating a fight with Flames defenceman
Kris Russell with less than five minutes left in Game 3 and receiving an instigation penalty along with a five minute fighting major and 10-minute game misconduct, Burrows didn't play the last three games of the series due to a fractured rib suffered during a morning skate prior to Game 4 of the series, causing him to miss the rest of the series. jersey in March 2015 Burrows finished the
2015–16 season with nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in 79 games, splitting time on the second or third line. Towards the end of the season, it was speculated the Canucks would buy-out the final year of Burrows' contract in favour of playing a younger player. In March 2016, he was reportedly told by Canucks coaching staff "younger players were a roster priority". However, in the ensuing off-season, the Canucks instead bought-out the contract of teammate Chris Higgins and stated they would not be doing the same to Burrows.
Ottawa Senators (2017–2018) After Burrows was asked to waive his no-trade clause, on February 27, 2017, he was traded to the
Ottawa Senators in exchange for
Jonathan Dahlén. Ottawa immediately signed Burrows to a two-year contract extension. He made his debut for the Senators on March 2, 2017, scoring both goals in a 2–1 victory over the
Colorado Avalanche. Burrows played 15 games in the
2017 playoffs before suffering an injury in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on May 17, subsequently ending his season. His Ottawa Senators were eliminated in seven games by the eventual Stanley Cup champions
Pittsburgh Penguins. On February 7, 2018, Burrows was suspended ten games for kneeing
New Jersey Devils forward
Taylor Hall in the head during a game on February 6, 2018. Burrows himself lamented on the incident: "Obviously, I messed up on that one. I let the emotions get the best of me." While serving the suspension, the Senators placed Burrows on waivers, but he went unclaimed by any of the NHL's other 30 teams. ==Post-playing career==