Sedin Twins Announce NHL Retirement

After 18 years of playing in the NHL, the league’s most iconic duo in history, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, have announced that they will be retiring at the end of the 2017-18 NHL regular season. The decision was announced Monday through the Vancouver Canucks’ official website in a letter that the twins wrote to fans of the team.

Drafted with the second and third-overall selections in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, the Sedin twins ranked first (Henrik) and second (Daniel) in games-played, first (Daniel) and fifth (Henrik) in goals scored, first (Henrik) and second (Daniel) in assists and first (Henrik) and second (Daniel) in points from their draft class.

Though they experienced a ton of regular season success with 13 combined seasons of over 20 goals scored and 15 combined seasons with over 70 points scored, including an Art Ross award for Daniel in 2010-11 just one season after Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy, the duo never saw their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Henrik Daniel Sedin Canucks
Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, Jan. 12, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Undoubtedly, the duo will go down as two of the greatest individual hockey players to have never gotten a chance to hoist the Championship. Despite this, the two was able to make an impact on the Canucks franchise all the same despite some of the great talents who have played for the team such as Pavel Bure, Markus Naslund and Trevor Linden

Between the two, the Sedins hold the records for most games played, goals scored, assists, points, goals created, plus/minus, even strength goals, power play goals, game-winning goals and even shots on net. They’ll likely both have their names immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day.

Letter From the Sedins

Dear Canucks fans,

Earlier this year we wrote a letter to the city, and to everyone who has supported us for the past 18 years. Many people were asking what the future holds. We said we’d take it one year at a time. We said when the time was right, we’d talk with our families and sit down with management to discuss it.

We started the year with the mindset that a decision would be made in the postseason. But it became clear, after discussions with our families throughout the year, that this will be our last season. This feels right for all of us.

Being part of the Canucks family for 18 seasons has been the best period of our lives. But it’s time to focus on our families and life after hockey. It’s time to help with homework every night. It’s time to be at every birthday party and to stand in the cold at every hockey rink, soccer game and riding lesson on weekends. It’s time to be at home for dinner every night.

We’re saying it now because we want to share these final three games with you. We also want to share these games with our families, friends, teammates, coaches, trainers, staff and everyone at the Canucks who have supported us. You’ve all been with us every step of the way, and we want to thank you.

It’s time to let the next generation of young players lead the Canucks. Travis is building a strong culture and emphasizes a style of play we know will be successful. The team is in great hands, with people who care about its success and it’s headed in the right direction. We know there is a bright future for the Canucks.

As we’ve said before, Vancouver has become home. This is our family’s home. We plan to be part of this community long after we retire. Vancouver has given us so much and we’ve tried to give everything we have in return. That won’t change.

In the meantime, we still have some games to play, and we still have some work to do.

Henrik and Daniel

More Than Just Players on the Ice

Outside of their contributions on the ice, the Sedins have also been exemplary individuals since joining the NHL. Whether it be within the locker room to help out newcomers over the last decade or within the community – something that earned Henrik the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2015-16, the two have made it their goal to help wherever they can while remaining some of the best players in the history of the game.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin Canucks
Daniel Sedin also has his name littered among the NHL’s top 100 on a number of categorical lists. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

This move will be a tough one for the Canucks and their fans to swallow as it’s been nearly two decades since the team hasn’t had the Sedin twins on their roster. This move does free up $14 million in cap space for them, however, which could be the Sedins last assists to the Canucks Franchise who are looking to finally concentrate fully on their rebuild with the youth movement in full effect and even more prospects on the way.