Canucks: Our favourite moments from the Sedin twins

With the Vancouver Canucks celebrating Sedin Week, the writers at TCW rallied together to share their favourite moments through the twins’ legendary careers.

On Wednesday the Vancouver Canucks organization will raise the jersey numbers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin to the rafters, officially retiring the numbers 22 and 33. An absolute no-brainer for the franchise as the magical twin brothers put their heart and soul into Van City for nearly 20 straight years.

When their once in a lifetime hockey story came to an incredible finish, the twins had their names all over the Canucks’ history books, with some records left to stand for decades to come. The mark they left on not only Vancouver, but the entire hockey world was something truly special, possibly even something that can never be done again.

They changed the game, invented the “Sedin tip” and left Canucks fans with tons of memories of magical “Sedinery”. From two fragile kids, all the way to powerful puck movers who could cycle the puck around you in circles, the Sedin twins were truly two of a kind — and together they were unstoppable.

Here at The Canuck Way, our staff looked back at the long, successful career of the twins and put together our favourite moments through Sedin history. A plethora of great games and moments, but we narrowed it down to each of our individual favourites. We hope you enjoy looking back at these as much as we do. The twins were truly something amazing, their highlight package never gets old.

Brayden Ursel – Back-to-back Art Ross winners

There was a time when the Sedin’s were both the best two players in the National Hockey League. In the prime of their playing careers, the twins went back-to-back winning the Art Ross trophy as the league’s top scorer.

In the 2009-10 campaign, Daniel fell to injury and missed 19 games with a broken foot. Henrik rose to the occasion, leading the team himself and proving he was a capable NHL player without his brother. In fact, he scored a career-high in points (112) and goals (29) on his way to his first and only Art Ross trophy. He beat out the league’s elite, and also captured the MVP award. Daniel was equally impressive, he paced for 111 points that year and could have easily been crowned if he played a full season.

Following in his brother’s footsteps, Daniel took over as the Canucks scoring king the very next season. The brothers were unstoppable and Daniel went on to win the Art Ross after a 104 point performance over 82 games. This was peak Canucks, the year they made it all the way to the 2011 Finals.

Forever, the Sedin twins’ names will be engraved next to each other on the Art Ross Trophy. That’s a perfect way to describe the hard-working and successful careers of Daniel and Henrik. They pushed one another to be the best each and every day. They did it all together. It was magical.

Sean Warren – BC Children’s Hospital

My favourite Sedin twins moment in a vast sea of tremendous memories is found off the ice. For all the jaw-dropping plays and milestones on the ice, Daniel and Henrik Sedin were even more extraordinary away from the rink. It feels like everyone has a great Sedin interaction that touches their heart and among those is the BC Children’s Hospital.

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In 2010, the Sedins quietly donated $1.5 million dollars to the construction of the BC Children’s Hospital.

Their humility, generosity, and charity were consistent with a number of causes in Vancouver but with the BC Children’s Hospital, it was in steady doses.

The Swedish twins would spend many hours over their entire tenure with the Canucks supporting them with visits and appearances on TV to fundraise.

The Sedin brothers left a legacy in Vancouver. What it meant to be a Canuck. The responsibility involved and the impact that they can have in their community to make it a better place than it was before they got there.

Setting a tone that lasts still and likely will for many more years to come, the Sedins were role models for generations.

Joshua Rey – The shift

The Sedin twins were the masters of the slap pass and the cycle game They dominated so many shifts that there is now a term for it. And it’s called, “Sedinery.”

The Sedins had so many great shifts in their careers, but nothing beats the one that happened on Oct. 13, 2007 against the Edmonton Oilers. Henrik and Daniel were on the power play with Ryan Kesler. The twins led the way with their clear and crisp passing, and it was amazing to watch as the puck moved from tape to tape.

Watching it now, I still can’t believe that they managed to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Just when you thought the Oilers were going to get the puck and clear it, the puck stayed in. Daniel eventually beat Dwayne Roloson for the goal.

The Sedins just knew how to find each other and their linemates.  The cycle was put on display during this shift. Simply incredible. Respect was earned.

If someone asks about what the brothers were like, show them a video of “The Shift.”  To me, it sums up the magic of Sedinery. I wasn’t a hockey fan at the time, but I remember kids at school talking about “The Shift.”

To this day, I am still amazed by it. It’s one of many perfect plays cooked up by the Sedin twins.

Lucas Celle – Quadruple overtime

It’s Game 1 of the 2007 Western Conference quarterfinals against the Dallas Stars. 4-4 tie. Quadruple overtime. Daniel rings a wrist shot off the post, and the crowd lets out a momentary gasp. The fans thought the game was over right there. They were praying it would be over.

The Canucks netminder at the other end, a 28-year-old Roberto Luongo, must have been praying for the game to be over too. He’s been putting on one the finest goaltending displays in postseason history, a 72-save performance. He’s undoubtedly exhausted. But the play continues.

The twins would keep possession of the puck and keep the pressure on with their patented cycle that fans had learned to adore them for. Henrik loses the puck for a second, but fellow countryman Mattias Ohlund is there to pick it up and rims it hard along the boards down to Daniel. Daniel swoops around from behind the net and lays a gift-wrapped pass into the slot for a streaking Henrik. Henrik redirects the puck in stride, right through the five-hole and that was it! It was over!

Henrik celebrates by slamming his fists passionately into the boards, and rightfully so, as the Vancouver Canucks had just defeated the stars in a 138-minute marathon that would go down for the ages.

The sighs of disbelief from those in attendance had turned into an explosion of pure ecstasy. Just listening to the video, you can hear the thunderous uproar from the crowd. It’s only fitting that the Sedins were the two that connected to end the longest playoff game in Canucks history. They gave the crowd a feeling of pure jubilation that night, as they did on many others in their illustrious careers. It’s one of my personal favourite moments from 22 and 33.

Final thoughts

The Sedin twins left a footprint on this franchise. The incredible chemistry and play of these identical twins was truly something special. The Canucks organization is very lucky to have experienced such a rare pleasure, and the fans will forever be grateful for everything they did.