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At peace with decision, Henrik and Daniel reflect on their careers, writes Ben Kuzma.
The signs were everywhere. We chose to ignore most of them.
The Henrik and Daniel Sedin retirement pendulum swung hard this NHL season. And because it oscillated from they’re-coming-back convictions to this-might-be-it conclusions, it was an every-day story until the dynamic Vancouver duo confirmed Monday they will retire when the Canucks’ season ends on April 7 in Edmonton.
We should have seen this coming.
There was the Players’ Tribune love letter to the city on the eve of training camp that read like a long goodbye, even though the intent was to avoid making this a farewell season and a circus-like atmosphere.
There would be less ice time, a rejuvenated power play, the promise of the kids and bounceback seasons for the superlative Swedes.
And yet, over the last few weeks, the exit signs were more evident.
Opposing players made sure to exchange post-game well wishes.
There were big-screen salutes and even bobblehead nights. It should have been obvious. But Daniel has 21 goals and 52 points and is second in team scoring. Henrik is third with 45 assists and 48 points.
However, instead of pressing on, they’re stepping back.
“It’s a happy day for all of us,” said Daniel. “We talked a lot to our wives and mom and dad and brothers. It’s good to talk to family. It’s been getting clearer as the season went on.
“We’re very happy with our decision and very comfortable where we’re at. It (retirement discussion) started in November,
then came Christmas, and the trade deadline, and it became clear it was the right decision.”
Added Henrik: “We’ve known for a long time. Early in the season we were leaning toward this. But you don’t want to make a final decision because you don’t know how you’re going to feel down the stretch.
“We wanted to play every game and not treat it as a goodbye season. It was pretty easy to show up for games, but we felt the last couple of weeks that we made the right decision.”
The 37-year-old ambassadors for the sport, the franchise and the city did what they’ve always done.
They put their families and team ahead of themselves.
The Canucks have won five of their last six games. There’s the impact of Brock Boeser, the promise of Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Dahlen, Adam Gaudette and Thatcher Demko. There are more prospects than suspects and the Sedins are leaving a team with some hope.
That’s what you expect from future hall of famers who have played more than 1,000 games.
The Sedins’ departure will open salary cap space and roster spots for a transitioning club that will be hard-pressed to replace their combined 100 points, leadership and humility.
And as much as players couldn’t say enough good things about the twins on Monday, getting
them to talk about themselves was difficult.
Henrik has accumulated 1,069 career points along with an Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy. Daniel has 1,038 points and an Art Ross. They know their numbers will be retired. But what of their legacy?
“We hated missing practices and games — that’s No. 1,” said Henrik, the outgoing captain. “We wanted to be the go-to guys who took a lot of criticism when things didn’t work out. But we wanted to make the plays that won us games.
“It’s something we never shied away from and can walk away and be proud of.”
The Sedins would like to be known as ordinary guys. They’re not.
They work tirelessly, with devotion, on their charitable endeavours in a city that has become home — even if it didn’t start out that way. The 1999 firstround draft picks didn’t have it easy at the outset.
Daniel had a 20-goal rookie season, but the pair struggled with criticism that they didn’t skate well enough or weren’t strong enough on pucks.
“A lot of people believed in us early on who were part of this organization,” said Henrik. “If we would have listened to a lot of voices outside this room, it would have been easy to trade us.
“We didn’t live up to the hype that we came with. We wanted to show we could play and get better every day from Day 1.”
Added Daniel: “We had Markus (Naslund) and Mattias (Ohlund), and Trevor (Linden) came along, but Henrik and me were pretty much the only young guys. It was tough early on. Fans and media were hard on us, but it made us stronger mentally. It made going through tough times easier.”
Easing into retirement might not happen. They’ll still hit the gym and they’ll stay in touch with the team.
But now they can enjoy what a world-class city has to offer when your days aren’t jammed with practices, games, flights, hotels and long road trips.
“Leaving the kids and family at home has been the toughest part,” said Daniel. “It nice to not have to work out every day and just enjoy free time.”