Brunette grew up in the small community of Valley East, Ontario, just outside Sudbury. He played much of his minor hockey career with the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. After a solid Midget season in 1989–90, Brunette was selected in the seventh round of the 1990Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection by the Owen Sound Platers. He was an OHL teammate of future NHLers Kirk Maltby, Scott Walker, Kevin Weekes and Jamie Storr. Brunette played for the Platers for three seasons between 1990 and 1993 and scored 295 points in 195 games, winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy in 1993. He was subsequently drafted by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round, 174th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, he played for the Hampton Roads Admirals in the ECHL before moving to the American Hockey League, where he played for two more teams that season: Providence Bruins and Portland Pirates. Brunette stayed with the Pirates until 1998, but was called up by the Capitals for the first time in the 1995–96 season and played 11 NHL games. Over the following few seasons, he played 51 more games for Washington before being selected in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft by the Nashville Predators. Notably, he scored the Predators' first ever goal. After playing in the inaugural 1998–99 season for the Predators, he moved to the newly created Atlanta Thrashers and played two seasons there before moving to the Minnesota Wild in the 2001–02 NHL season. Brunette scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Colorado Avalanche on April 22, 2003, the final game of Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy's career. Brunette stayed with the Wild until 2004 and signed as a free agent for the Colorado Avalanche after the 2004–05 lockout. He scored the series-clinching goal for the Avalanche on April 30, 2006, against the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of the 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals. The 2006–07 was his best individual season, averaging over a point per game for his first time in the NHL, playing on a line with superstar centreJoe Sakic. Brunette scored his 500th NHL career point on October 26, 2007, against the Calgary Flames. He played three consecutive full 82-game seasons with the Avalanche. Brunette signed a thee-year, $7 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on July 1, 2008, to begin a second stint with the club. On October 9, he was named an alternate captain alongside Mikko Koivu. Brunette was highly regarded for his physical durability and consistency, qualities which allowed him to play in 509 consecutive games without having to sit out due to injury from 2002 to 2009. However, he was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee but insisted on finishing the 2008–09 season before having surgery in the off-season. On July 1, 2011, Brunette signed a one-year, $2 million with the Chicago Blackhawks. During the 2011–12 season, Brunette, in a reduced role, recorded a career-low in points with 27 in 78 games. With the 2012–13 NHL lockout and limited NHL interest as a free agent upon the resumption of the shortened 2012–13 season, on February 13, 2013, Brunette announced his retirement from his playing career and that he would rejoin the Minnesota Wild organization as its hockey operations advisor. Brunette currently serves as an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers.
