The Vancouver Canucks should have a bittersweet feeling regarding the Sedin twins retiring
Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin’s time with the Vancouver Canucks and the NHL will come to a bittersweet end. The twins have announced their retirement following the end of the 2017-18 season. They will go down as two of the best Canucks of all-time after playing their entire 17-year careers in Vancouver.
The brothers won back-to-back Art Ross trophies in 2009-10 and 2010-11. In the 2009-10 season, Henrik also won the Hart trophy. Meanwhile, the 2010-11 season was special for Daniel. Unfortunately, the one thing they could never capture was a Stanley Cup trophy.
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For over a decade, it felt like the Sedins would help the Canucks become contenders. They might have played a secondary role early in their careers behind the powerful line of Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund, and Brendan Morrison, but once it was their time to take over, the twins didn’t disappoint.
After the lockout that caused the loss of the 2004-05 season, the Sedins returned for breakout seasons in 2005-06 as both recorded 70-point totals for the first time in their careers. Henrik finished the year with 75 points and it’d be his lowest point total for the next eight seasons. Daniel finished the 2005-06 season with 71 points. This would be his lowest point total for the next seven seasons, including his Art Ross year of 104 points.
Making the point totals over the years so impressive is the Sedins maintained a consistent level of excellence while constantly rotating wingers onto their line. It’ll be debated for decades in Vancouver as to who was the best winger the Sedins ever played with. Names that include players such Naslund, Anson Carter, Mikael Samuelson, Pavol Demitra, Alexandre Burrows, Jannik Hansen, and Loui Eriksson.
Unfortunately, the Sedins never truly found that third permanent linemate. They always did more for their winger than their winger ever did for them. This begs the question, could they have gone to an even greater level with an elite winger?
Had the Canucks ever been able to find an elite winger for the Sedins perhaps the franchise could have finally won a Stanley Cup. The club’s failure to win a championship was never on the twins, as the Sedins only missed the playoffs twice in their first 12 seasons. However, in recent years and as age has caught up to the twins, Vancouver has only made the playoffs once in the past five seasons (including this year).
With the Canucks undergoing a full youth movement and likely nowhere near contending for at least a few seasons, the Sedins have chosen to call it a career. They hand off the mantle of carrying the weight of the franchise to the likes of Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser.
However, some will wonder what could have been had Vancouver chosen to undergo the youth movement sooner than they did. If the kids were further along their development maybe the Sedins would have stuck around a year or two.
As the Sedins say goodbye it’ll be a bittersweet ending for the twins. A celebration of two careers built on close to two decades of unmatchable chemistry, but careers that unfortunately will never feature a Stanley Cup ring.
Next: Top 5 Sedin Twins Moments
They’ll be considered two of the greatest Canucks of all-time but also join fellow great Canucks in never winning it all such as Naslund, Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, and Stan Smyl.