Alex Edler, longtime Canucks defenceman, was a model of consistency and utility

Alex Edler, the Vancouver Canucks defenceman, collected the puck from goaltender Cory Schneider with seven and a half minutes left in the second period on Mar. 17, 2012. The Canucks were on the power play and led the Columbus Blue Jackets 2–1.

He wheeled around the net and took a few hard strides to get out of his zone. He pushed the puck forward on his backhand, his right hand on the top of his Easton Stealth RS. He looked up and saw the open ice in front of him. The Blue Jackets' penalty killers had given him space to skate. Their forwards left the middle of the ice vacant. Their two defenceman got caught on the same side of the ice.

Edler made a beeline to the offensive zone in a near-perfect line. He easily split through all four Columbus skaters on the ice. One of the penalty killers, Nikita Nikitin, fell as Edler rushed through them like an express subway train would at a local New York City station.

"Shades of Bobby Orr," CBC broadcaster Mark Lee said on-air.

You always knew he was there

Flashy goals like this were unusual for the hulking six-foot-four Edler, who often scored with his slap shot from the point. But Edler's consistency and reliability are what led to his 17–year NHL career. Some nights, like that Saturday night in March 2012 against the Blue Jackets, he'd shine in a moment like that coast-to-coast goal. Some nights, his presence would be felt in the form of a big hit. You always knew he was there.

Ahead of Vancouver's game Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers, Edler signed a one-day contract to retire as a Canuck. He's earned every ounce of that honour, which was also given in 2022 to Kevin Bieksa.

Edler said in an interview on Donnie and Dhali that the Canucks had reached out to him and asked if he wanted to retire as a Canuck, the team he spent 15 years with in the NHL through their rise in dominance in the early-2010s. It seemed fitting, he said.

"It means a lot," Edler said. "It means that I was a part of that organization for a long time and I lived in the city for a long time and a lot happened in my life both on and off the ice in that city and with that organization, so it meant a lot for me when they reached out and asked me if I wanted to do that."

Kudos to the Canucks

Edler credited the Canucks organization with scouting him. He had been playing for a third division team in Sweden, Don Taylor of Donnie and Dhali said during the interview. Thomas Gradin, the Canucks' scout and former player, found him. Edler said he hadn't played on one of Sweden's national teams, but through word of mouth, Gradin heard about the defenceman.

"At the time, I didn't know if it was real or not," Edler said. "He showed interest and talked to me more after that and obviously after that year was the draft, and everything was just kind of not real to me at the time. From there, everything happened very fast."

The Canucks drafted Edler 91st overall in 2004. A few years later, he was in Vancouver.

Edler grew up in Vancouver. He arrived as a 20-year-old rookie in 2006. He made his NHL debut on Nov. 4 that year against the Colorado Avalanche. He scored his first NHL goal 26 days later against the Anaheim Ducks, fittingly, with his patented slap shot.

That shot would cement Edler's place in the Canucks' lineup over the following decade and a half. He helped anchor the team's power play during some of its best years — in 2011–12, he scored a career-high 22 points with the man advantage, which included the goal against the Blue Jackets.

Best defenceman in team history

Edler's numbers immortalize his place in Canucks history. His 925 games played, 409 points, 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power play points are all franchise records for defencemen.

He was a mainstay on Vancouver's blue line through the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, after which he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings. Though his Canucks tenure ended unceremoniously as the team finished last in the NHL's North Division and missed the playoffs that season, his love for the Canucks organization and the city hasn't wavered much. He met his wife and had two kids in the city, he said.

"Very thankful and very happy that I ended up there, and that I was there for so long."

His flashes of brilliance put him in the spotlight. Whether it was a goal or a hit, he always made an impact. Some nights it wasn’t as obvious, like his 1,936 blocked shots — 10th in NHL history.

But that night against the Blue Jackets, he was a star. The first star of the game, in fact. He also added an assist and played 23:49 across 27 shifts. He had five shots on goal and three blocks.

And a goal that he'll remember for a lifetime.

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