Henrik Sedin

Aged 16, Henrik and Daniel Sedin began their professional careers in 1997–98 with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League. Henrik recorded a goal and five points over 39 games during his rookie season. In his second year with Modo, he improved to 12 goals and 34 points, joint second in team scoring with Samuel Påhlsson, behind Daniel.[7] At the end of the season, Henrik and Daniel were named co-recipients of the Golden Puck, the Swedish player of the year award.[8]

The Sedins were considered top prospects for the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Rated as the top European prospects,[9] they were expected to be top five selections and expressed a desire to play for the same team.[5] Their agent, Mike Barnett, president of international talent agency IMG, presented them with two options to circumvent the usual NHL draft process, allowing them to play together.[5] The first option was for the pair to enter the 1999 draft and not sign with their respective NHL clubs for two years, allowing them to become unrestricted free agents. This option required that they play junior ice hockey in North America, which was not their intention.[5] Barnett also suggested that either Henrik or Daniel opt out of the 1999 draft, in the hope that the same team that selected the first twin would select the other the following year.[5] On the possibility of the Sedins' playing for separate teams, Vancouver Canucks scout Thomas Gradin commented, "They're good enough to play with anyone, but separately their capacity might decrease by 10 or 15 percent."[5] Nevertheless, Henrik and Daniel both entered the 1999 draft expecting to be selected by separate teams.[6] However, then-Canucks general manager Brian Burke already possessed the third overall pick and through a series of transactions[notes 1] he obtained the second overall pick. He used these second and third overall picks to select Daniel and Henrik, respectively.[11] Gradin notified them of the Canucks' intentions five minutes before the draft.[6] Although then-Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Rick Dudley was ready to make Daniel his first overall choice before opening negotiations, he was convinced by Burke and Barnett that Daniel would not sign unless his brother was on the same team.[1]

On 27 July 1999, a month following the draft, Henrik and Daniel signed three-year contracts with the Canucks.[12] As the contract did not require them to begin playing in Vancouver immediately, they announced on 12 August they would return to Sweden to play one more season with Modo.[13] During the 1999–2000 season, Henrik led Modo in scoring with 47 points in 50 games, two points ahead of Daniel.[14] The two brothers played on a line with New York Islanders prospect Mattias Weinhandl.[15]

The 2000–01 NHL season was Henrik's first for the Canucks. His debut was the team's first game of the campaign on 5 October 2000, a 6–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.[16] With the game, Henrik and Daniel became the fourth pair of twins to have played in the NHL.[16] Three days later, Henrik assisted on Daniel's first career NHL goal in a 5–4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.[17] The goal tied the game at 4 with 1:26 left in regulation.[17] In a 5–2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 16 October 2000, Henrik scored his first NHL goal and added an assist on Daniel's second career goal.[18] Henrik tallied 29 points over the course of the campaign—second among team rookies to Daniel's 34 points.[19] He and Daniel played primarily on the Canucks' third line.[20]

Henrik improved to 36 points in his second NHL season; he finished with five goals in his last six games, taking his season total to 16.[21] In the opening game of the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, Henrik scored the overtime winner against the first-seeded Detroit Red Wings to put the Canucks 1–0 ahead in the series; it was his first NHL playoff goal.[22] Detroit went on to eliminate the Canucks in six games en route to winning the Stanley Cup.[23] During the 2002–03 season, Henrik suffered a sprained left shoulder that forced him out of three games.[24] He had sustained the injury during a game against the Edmonton Oilers on 14 December 2002.[25] Henrik also missed a game on 23 February 2003 because of a hand injury.[26] He played 78 games during 2002–03 and finished the campaign with 39 points.[27]

After their third NHL season, Henrik and Daniel were re-signed to one-year, US$1.125 million contracts on 29 July 2003.[28] The Sedins began the 2003–04 season on a line with first-year player Jason King.[29] The trio were named the "Mattress Line" (two twins and a King) and formed the Canucks' second scoring unit until King was reassigned to the team's minor league affiliate midway through the season.[29] On 7 November 2003, St. Louis Blues forward Doug Weight was suspended four games without pay for a cross-check he delivered to Henrik during a game the previous day; Henrik was not injured.[30] On 17 December 2003, Henrik was a healthy scratch for the first and only time in his NHL career.[31] He was also sidelined for five games in March 2004 due to sore ribs.[32][33] Over 76 games, Henrik increased his points total over the previous season to 42. During the off-season, Henrik and Daniel were re-signed to one-year, US$1.25 million contracts on 10 September 2004.[34][35]

During the 2004–05 lockout, Henrik returned to Sweden to play for Modo with Daniel and their Canucks teammate Markus Näslund. During a game against Mora IK on 20 November 2004, Henrik received a slash that required a minor amputation to his left little finger.[36] He finished the season with 36 points in 44 games, third in team scoring behind Peter Forsberg and Mattias Weinhandl.[37]

Henrik and Daniel Sedin, along with Anson Carter, prepare to face the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.

As NHL play resumed in 2005–06, Henrik returned to the Canucks and scored 75 points, finishing second in team scoring behind Markus Näslund, who had 79 points.[38] His breakout season was sparked, in part, by the signing of winger Anson Carter, who played on the Sedins' line and led the team in goal-scoring.[38] The trio matched the scoring pace of the Canucks' top line of Näslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison.[38] Vancouver's head coach at the time, Marc Crawford, recalled that season as marking the Sedins' ascent as leaders on the team, stating, "By the end of that year, they definitely were our top guys. They had surpassed Näslund and Bertuzzi."[1] During the off-season, Henrik and Daniel re-signed with the Canucks to identical three-year, $10.75 million contracts on 30 June 2006.[39] Despite the team's success with Carter, the Canucks did not re-sign him; he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets the following season.[40]

In the 2006–07 season, Henrik established himself as the Canucks' top-line centre. Winger Taylor Pyatt, who had been acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres during the off-season, replaced Carter as the Sedins' linemate[41] and went on to score a career-high 23 goals. For the fifth-straight season, Henrik recorded a personal best, with 81 points; he set a new Canucks record for assists in one season with 71, beating the 62 by André Boudrias in 1974–75.[42] Henrik passed Boudrias on 25 March 2007, with a three-assist effort during a 5–4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.[42] In the opening game of the 2007 playoffs against the Dallas Stars, Henrik scored a game-winning, quadruple-overtime goal to end the seventh longest game in NHL history (and longest in Canucks history) at 138 minutes and six seconds of play.[43] He struggled to produce offensively in his 12 games in the playoffs, however, managing four points as the Canucks were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round.[44]

Henrik scores against Evgeni Nabokov in 2007.

Henrik was awarded his first NHL career penalty shot on 27 November 2007, during a game against the Anaheim Ducks. His attempt was stopped by goaltender Jonas Hiller.[45][46] In 2007–08, Henrik was selected to play for the Western Conference in the 2008 All-Star Game against the East, the first appearance of his career. He recorded two assists.[47] He won his first Cyrus H. McLean Trophy as Vancouver's leading scorer with 76 points.[48] His 61 assists ranked fourth in the League for the second consecutive season.[49][50]

The following season, Henrik scored 22 goals and 82 points, tying for the team lead in points with Daniel. Steve Bernier had been acquired in the 2008 off-season in another trade with Buffalo and began the season on the top line with the Sedins.[51] Bernier was later removed;[52] on 12 February 2009, head coach Alain Vigneault moved Alexandre Burrows to the line during a game against the Phoenix Coyotes.[53] After recording 19 points and three game-winning goals in March, Henrik was named the NHL's Second Star of the Month.[54] He added ten points over ten games in the 2009 playoffs, helping the Canucks advance to the second round, where they were defeated in six games by the Chicago Blackhawks.[55]

Set to become unrestricted free agents on 1 July 2009, Henrik and Daniel began negotiating with the Canucks in the off-season and were reported to have asked for 12-year, $63 million contracts in mid-June.[56] With free agency looming, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis travelled to Sweden to visit the Sedins, where they agreed on identical five-year, $30.5 million contracts on 1 July.[57] On 30 September, Henrik was announced as one of the Canucks' three alternate captains, along with Ryan Kesler and Willie Mitchell.[58]

Four games into the 2009–10 season, Daniel suffered the first major injury of his career, breaking his foot in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. He was sidelined for 18 games,[59] marking the first time in Henrik's career that he played without his brother for an extended period. In Daniel's absence, however, Henrik enjoyed a high-scoring start to the season. On 14 November 2009, he scored his first NHL career hat-trick in an 8–2 win against the Colorado Avalanche.[60] Leading up to Daniel's 22 November return, Henrik scored seven goals in seven games.[59] He continued his pace into December, recording a League-leading 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 15 games to be named the NHL's First Star of the Month.[61] The following month, he was named Second Star, having recorded 25 points in 13 games.[62] On 7 January 2010, Henrik moved into top spot in the NHL scoring race, ahead of San Jose Sharks centre Joe Thornton with a three-assist night against the Phoenix Coyotes. It marked the first time in nearly five years, since Näslund was tied with Robert Lang on 18 February 2004, that a Canucks player held the League lead in scoring.[63] During a 3–1 win against the Calgary Flames on 14 March, Henrik recorded his 416th career assist to pass Trevor Linden as Vancouver's all-time leader.[64] On 27 March, he scored two assists against the San Jose Sharks to become the fourth Canuck in team history to record a 100-point season (after Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny and Markus Näslund).[65][66] He was named Third Star of the Month for March after scoring 24 points in 15 games.[67]

Henrik during an away game in 2009.

Henrik entered the final game of the regular season, on 10 April against the Calgary Flames, one point behind Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL scoring lead.[68] In a pre-game ceremony, he was awarded the Canucks' Cyclone Taylor Trophy, Cyrus H. McLean Trophy and Molson Cup as the team's most valuable player, leading scorer and three-star selection leader, respectively.[68] He then went on to record four assists in a 7–3 win to finish the season with 112 points, passing Ovechkin for the season lead, while also breaking Pavel Bure's franchise record of 110 points, set in 1992–93.[68] Ovechkin failed to register a point in his last game the next day, earning Henrik the League scoring title and making him the first Art Ross Trophy winner in Canucks history.[69][70] With a League-leading 83 assists,[71] he also surpassed his own team record of 71 assists in one season. In the subsequent 2010 playoffs, Henrik added 14 points in 12 games. He scored the winning goal in game four against the Los Angeles Kings with under three minutes to go in regulation to tie the series at two games each.[72] The Canucks went on to eliminate the Kings in six games before being ousted by the Blackhawks the following round for the second consecutive year.[73]

On 19 May 2010, The Sporting News named Henrik their 2009–10 Player of the Year. He received 108 first-place votes out of the 353 NHL players, coaches and executives polled. Ovechkin received 86 first-place votes while Sidney Crosby received 72 first-place votes.[74] Henrik was also voted by his countrymen in the league to receive the Viking Award as the NHL's best Swedish player. At the NHL Awards Show the following month on 23 June, Henrik, Ovechkin and Crosby were up for both the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player deemed by the media to be the most valuable to his team, and the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the best player as voted by the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA).[75][76] After losing the Ted Lindsay Award to Ovechkin, Henrik was awarded the Hart, becoming the first Canuck and second Swedish player (after Peter Forsberg in 2003) to win the trophy.[77] Henrik garnered 894 voting points, compared to Ovechkin's 834 and Crosby's 729.[77] He admitted afterwards to feeling like the underdog going into the awards ceremony, noting "[Ovechkin and Crosby] are the faces of the sport ... to be standing next to them as the old guy, it's a strange feeling."[77] He was additionally named to the NHL first All-Star team; at the same time, twin Daniel was named to the NHL second All-Star team.[78] It marked the first time since Phil and Tony Esposito in 1973–74 that two brothers were named post-season NHL All-Stars.[78] They were also chosen to appear together on the cover of EA Sports' European version of the NHL 11 video game.[79]

On 9 October 2010, Henrik was named the Canucks' 13th captain in team history during a pre-game ceremony celebrating the start of the team's 40th season of play.[80] He succeeded Roberto Luongo, who had stepped down as team captain the previous month.[81] Early in the 2010–11 season, he scored his first penalty shot goal on his second NHL career attempt on 1 November. Playing the New Jersey Devils, he scored on a backhand deke against goaltender Martin Brodeur.[45] Midway through the campaign, he was chosen to his second career NHL All-Star Game. Playing on Team Lidstrom opposite Daniel and teammate Ryan Kesler on Team Staal, Henrik helped his squad to an 11–10 win, recording two assists in the process.[82] Finishing the season with 19 goals and a League-leading 75 assists over 82 games, he ranked fourth in the NHL point-scoring with 94; only brother Daniel, Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks finished ahead of him.[83] With Daniel winning the League scoring title, the two became the first brothers to win the Art Ross Trophy in consecutive years. (Chicago Blackhawks forwards Doug and Max Bentley also won separate scoring titles, but had achieved the feat three years apart in 1943 and 1946, respectively.)[84]

Henrik accepts the Clarence Campbell Bowl on behalf of the team as the 2011 Western Conference champions.

As the Canucks established a team-record 54 wins and 117 points, they won their first Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best regular season record. Entering the 2011 playoffs as the first seed in the West, the Canucks eliminated the Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators in seven and six games, respectively. In the third round against the San Jose Sharks, Henrik established a single-game Canucks playoff record with four assists in Game 4, leading the Canucks to a 4–2 win. His first three assists helped the Canucks set another team record for the fastest three goals scored in a playoff game; all three were registered on 5-on-3 powerplays in a span of one minute and fifty-five seconds.[85] With his third assist of the game, Henrik set another team record with his 16th assist of the 2011 playoffs, surpassing Pavel Bure's mark set in 1994.[86][87] With San Jose facing elimination the following game, Henrik recorded two more assists for his 11th and 12th points in the series, tying Bure for most in a single round by a Canucks player. Vancouver won the game 3–2 in double-overtime to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.[88] Playing the Boston Bruins, the Canucks won the first two games of the series, but went on to lose four-games-to-three.[89] Henrik finished the post-season with three goals and 22 points over 25 games, ranking second in playoff scoring behind Bruins centre David Krejčí.[90] It was revealed following their defeat that Henrik had been playing a large portion of the playoffs with a back injury.[91]

A week after Vancouver's Game 7 loss, Henrik was on hand at the NHL Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas, having been nominated along with Daniel for the NHL Foundation Player Award for their charitable work. They lost the award to Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown. For his regular season efforts, Henrik was named to the NHL first All-Star team for a second consecutive year, alongside Daniel, who earned the distinction for the first time.[92] Returning to Sweden in the off-season, Henrik and Daniel were co-recipients of the Victoria Scholarship as the country's athletes of the year. They became the third and fourth ice hockey players to receive the award, after Stefan Persson in 1980 and Peter Forsberg in 1994. Henrik and Daniel were presented the award, commemorated with glass plates, on 14 July 2011, in the city of Borgholm.[93]

Playing in the 2011–12 season opener, Henrik dressed for his 500th consecutive NHL regular season game, having not missed a contest since returning from a rib injury on 21 March 2004.[33] Almost three months later, he surpassed Brendan Morrison's Canucks record of 534 consecutive games played in a 5–2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on 26 December 2011.[94] The previous game, in which he tied the record, was played against Morrison's Calgary Flames.[notes 2][96] At the end of the month, Henrik was named the NHL's Third Star for December, having recorded 22 points (two goals and 20 assists) over 15 games (a League-high total for the month).[97] At the mid-season mark, Henrik was named to his third NHL All-Star Game in January 2012. He was one of four players representing the Canucks, including Daniel, Alexander Edler and Cody Hodgson, who was named as a rookie.[98] With the exception of Hodgson, all the Canucks All-Stars were selected to Team Alfredsson. Henrik went on to record a goal and two assists in a 12–9 loss to Team Chara.[99] Shortly after the All-Star break, Henrik injured his foot while blocking a shot from Predators defenceman Kevin Klein on 7 February. He briefly left the game and while a subsequent CT scan revealed no fracture, he remained questionable for the following contest before eventually playing through the ailment.[100] Later that month, Henrik began a streak that saw him go eight games without a point for the first time since the 2003–04 season.[101][notes 3] Near the end of the regular season, Daniel sustained a concussion during a game against Chicago, forcing Henrik to play without his brother for the final nine contests of the campaign.[103] During that span, he recorded 11 points,[104] leading the Canucks to eight wins and one loss.[105][106] The season-ending streak helped the Canucks to their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy, clinching the championship on the last game of the campaign, a 3–0 win against the Edmonton Oilers.[107] During the contest, Henrik broke a 22-game goalless streak with the game-winner.[104] With 67 assists, he led the League for a third consecutive season, becoming the fifth player in NHL history to do so, after Joe Thornton (2005–08), Wayne Gretzky (1979–92), Bobby Orr (1969–72) and Stan Mikita (1964–67).[108] Though his points total dropped to 81, which ranked ninth in the NHL, he led the Canucks in scoring[109] and was voted the team MVP.[110]

The Canucks entered the 2012 playoffs against the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings. With Daniel out with a concussion Vancouver lost the first two games. In Game 3, Henrik received a hard hit from Kings' forward Dustin Brown—he had to be helped onto the bench following the hit and went to the locker room for six minutes. Despite later returning to the game, the Canucks lost 1–0.[111][112] With Daniel back in the lineup for Game 4, Henrik registered a goal and an assist in a 3–1 Canucks' victory.[113] Facing elimination in Game 5, Henrik scored a power play goal late in the first period to give Vancouver the early lead, though Canucks were unable to add another goal and eventually lost 2–1 in overtime.[114] Henrik finished the playoffs with two goals and five points to lead the team in scoring.[115]

Despite another lockout beginning on 15 September 2012, the Sedins decided that they would only return to Modo, now managed by former teammate Markus Näslund, if the entire 2012–13 season wound up cancelled.[116] Instead, the shortened season began in January 2013, and during it Henrik passed Näslund as the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 757 points. After scoring the record-setting point, Sedin was given a standing ovation that carried on as play continued. After three minutes, the play stopped and Sedin saluted the crowd. During a commercial break, the Canucks ran a tribute video for the accomplishment, featuring congratulations from Näslund and Trevor Linden, the third-leading scorer in team history.[117] In the final game of the season, head coach Alain Vigneault wanted to rest his regulars ahead of the playoffs. However, he played Henrik in the game though only for 22 seconds; he left the bench after just one shift. For his part, Henrik told Vigneault that "he would be okay with sitting out the game" and to him the streak is just "a number in the paper." Vigneault responded by telling Sedin that "he's not going to be the one that breaks the streak", and he gave him the choice to remain on the bench or return to the locker room. Sedin felt remaining on the bench would have been a further distraction and chose to leave.[118][119] Henrik finished the season with 11 goals and 45 points in 48 games.[27]

Henrik wearing the Canucks' commemorative Vancouver Millionaires jersey in March 2015.

As of the end of the 2012–13 season, six 2003–04 season regular-season games plus four regular-season games in the previous season are the only NHL games he had missed in the regular season or play-offs throughout his NHL career of 1,039 games, to that point.[33][120] Through the end of the 2012–13 season Henrik trailed only St. Louis Blues defenceman Jay Bouwmeester among active NHL ironman streaks; Bouwmeester had played in six more consecutive regular season games than Henrik's 629. On 21 January 2014, Sedin's consecutive regular season games streak ended at 679 games due to a rib injury sustained 16 January when he was cross-checked in Phoenix by Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal.[121]

At the beginning of the 2013–14 season, the Sedins signed matching $28 million contract extensions to play four more years with the Canucks.[122] Sedin played his 1,000th NHL game against the Winnipeg Jets on 12 March 2014, becoming only the second player in franchise history to reach that milestone.[123] His brother Daniel reached the same milestone early in the 2014–15 season.[124] Sedin appeared in 70 games for the Canucks during the 2013–14 season and scored 50 points: 11 goals and 39 assists.[27] Having been eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2013 playoffs,[125] the 2013–14 Canucks failed to qualify for the postseason.[126] On 3 March 2015, against the San Jose Sharks, Sedin scored his 900th point, a goal in the second period of the game.[127] He was the 101st player to reach this milestone.[128] Sedin became the first player in Canucks history to record 900 points with the team.[129] On 6 April 2015, Sedin scored his 700th career assist against the Los Angeles Kings.[130] During the 2014–15 season, Sedin had 18 goals and 55 assists, and his total of 73 points was his highest since 2011–12.[27] Sedin was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season.[131] Henrik surpassed Trevor Linden for most regular season games played in a Canucks uniform on February 13, 2016 during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[132] Sedin had 11 goals and 44 assists in 2015–16.[27]

On 20 January 2017, Sedin reached the 1,000 point milestone with a goal against the Florida Panthers and former teammate Roberto Luongo.[133] Sedin had 15 goals and 35 assists during the 2016–17 season.[27] A pregame ceremony in his honour was held on 4 February 2017.[134]

On 2 April 2018, Daniel and Henrik announced that they would be retiring at the end of the season in a letter thanking the Canucks organization and their fans.[135] On 5 April 2018, the Sedin Twins played their final game in Rogers Arena against the Arizona Coyotes.[136] In their last home game, Henrik recorded two assists on his brother's goals to help defeat the Coyotes 4–3.[137] Henrik played his final game on 7 April 2018, in a 3–2 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers; he retired alongside Daniel at the end of the 2017–18 season after 17 seasons and 1,330 regular season games with the Vancouver Canucks.[138][139] Despite their retirement, Henrik and his brother were nominated, and named finalists, for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy,[140] which they won on 20 June.[141]

On 12 February 2020, Henrik's number 33 would be raised to the rafters alongside his brother Daniel's number 22 in an hour-long jersey retirement ceremony, the culmination of a week-long celebration of the twins' career.[142]

On 28 June 2022, it was announced that Henrik would join his brother Daniel in being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later that year, together becoming the first career Canucks to make it to the hall.[143]

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