Vancouver Canucks: Daniel Sedin Unhappy with Teammates’ Effort

After the Vancouver Canucks were shut out in straight games, Daniel Sedin is calling out his teammates’ effort level.

After losing to the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 on Friday and then 3-0 to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks have fallen to 27th overall in league standings.

Good news for team tank. Not so good if you’re a Canucks player having to look into the eyes of Daniel Sedin.

The youngest Sedin was uncharacteristically critical of his teammates in his post-game interview Saturday night:

Henrik Sedin began the post-game show with the sort of dispassionate assessment that fans of the Canucks are accustomed to seeing from the twins. He pointed out, correctly, that his team had played the night before and had faced a good team which was well-rested.

Daniel was not as optimistic. While not naming names and not being visibly upset, he made clear what he thought was the issue with his team: effort.

In fact, Daniel gave “effort” as the answer to every single question he was asked. To summarize his comments:

"Daniel: I don’t care where we are in the standings, the effort always has to be there.Reporter: What do you tell the younger players to maintain their confidence during a stretch like this?Daniel: Confidence doesn’t come from scoring points, it comes from working hard. If they lack confidence, it’s because they aren’t working hard enough. When you get outshot this bad, the effort isn’t there for a lot of guys.Reporter: Do you feel bad for Ryan Miller after he played so well tonight?Daniel: He played unbelievable. We had some chances to score. The goals will come, but the effort always has to be there.Reporter: What do you expect from your team as they head on a tough road trip?Daniel: Effort. You have to work for your chances. Once we realize that, I think we can be a good team. And you need all guys, it can’t be five, six, seven guys. It’s got to be 20 guys."

For those who don’t follow the Vancouver Canucks regularly, this might seem like a pretty boring interview. It certainly doesn’t compare to Ryan Miller calling out Patrick Kaleta while they were Buffalo Sabres teammates.

For veterans of Sedin interviews, however, it was cold water to the face. It is rare to see either of the normally diplomatic Sedins offer direct criticism of their team.

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It is more common to see the kind of comments Henrik offered: giving credit to the other team, acknowledging that the NHL is a tough league, pointing out some positives.

And above all, using the word “we”.

That was the most striking thing about Daniel Sedin’s comments. In interviews, the Sedins are slow to take credit and slow to assign blame.

But instead of more familiar truisms, like “we weren’t good enough tonight,” Daniel offered a much different explanation: he and his brother are pulling their weight, but there are others on the team who aren’t.

Speculate yourself who those others might be.

The statistics from Saturday’s game certainly bear out Daniel’s narrative: of 19 Canucks shots, the Sedins combined for 10 of them. Of the rest, only Sven Baertschi and Brendan Gaunce managed multiple shots (two apiece).

Couple that with a truly appalling defensive effort, where the Canucks were outshot 50-19, and Daniel’s frustration is understandable.

Other than goalies Jacob Markstrom and Ryan Miller, forwards Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, defenseman Dan Hamhuis, and of course Daniel and Henrik, no one on the Vancouver Canucks roster can say they’ve put forth a complete effort during the Canucks current four-game losing streak.

While inconsistent play is to be expected from a highly inexperienced team, Daniel’s message is one that needs to be heard by all the young players on the Canuck’s roster: hard work, not talent, is what breeds success.

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As one of the hardest-working players in the NHL, Daniel knows what he is talking about.

And if Daniel Sedin feels strongly enough about the Canucks’ lack of effort that he would call his teammates out publicly after a game, you can be sure it’s something that needs to be addressed.