But he now describes his unexpected exit from the Hawks in a 2018 trade scramble as "a blessing in disguise".
At the time, Port wanted to off-load Chad Wingard to Hawthorn and Burton unwittingly became part of the deal.
The South Australian-born defender was on holiday in the United States at the end of the 2018 season when stunned by a call from his manager, saying the Hawks wanted to trade him out, and Wingard in.
"It has become a blessing in disguise that trade," Burton told reporters on Friday.
"I was only in my third year at Hawthorn, I was a young guy looking to be a one-club player."
Burton has inked a fresh deal with the Power until the end of the 2025 season, with teammates Dan Houston (end of 2027), Tom Clurey (2025) and Willem Drew (2024) also signing on at Alberton.
Since Burton's arrival, the Power placed 10th in 2019 before losing consecutive preliminary finals while the once-mighty Hawks have finished ninth, 15th and 14th since his departure.
"The trade is the best thing that happened to me," Burton said.
"It took me to the club I barracked for growing up and I came home ... it worked out really well.
"I am part of a great team that in the past two years has gone deep into finals.
"We have a great core group of players to keep contending each year."
The 25-year-old's initial two seasons returned just 16 and eight games respectively when beset by a knee injury and soft-tissue ailments.
But last season Burton played 24 games under a rejigged training regime. Instead of nursing him along, he's now carrying greater mid-week loads.
"We have learnt during the past 12 months that more is better," he said.
"The increased work load means I have not missed a training session this year - in previous years, I have been managed, missing one session a week.
"I don't have any recurring soft-tissue issues.
"I still deal with my knee every session and that has been tracking really well going into this season."
8°C