Sedins To Retire In Vancouver

Henrik and Daniel Sedin have announced this will be their final season in the National Hockey League.

The Sedins are the most unique superstars in the history of the game. They had a magic chemistry together that left onlookers in awe and could only be described as "Sedinery." They were chess players playing three moves ahead of their opponent. At the same time they were creative artists who took great pride in the results of their craft. They believed hockey was to be played beautifully, and every shift, every scoring chance and every goal was treated as a masterpiece.

Two sure-fire Hall of Famers, Henrik has 1,068 points (240 goals, 828 assists) in 1,327 regular-season games, while Daniel has 1,038 points (391 goals, 647 assists) in his 1,303 outings. Henrik added 23 goals and 55 assists in 105 playoff games, and Daniel put up 25 goals and 46 assists in 102 post-season contests.

They led Vancouver to within one game of winning the Cup in 2011 - a moment they called their greatest achievement but also their lowest moment, too. They helped Sweden win a World Championship and the 2006 Olympic Gold Medal.

Individually they won accolades that cemented their status as the best in the game. Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer in 2009-10 with 112 points before also capturing the Hart Trophy as league MVP.

Daniel then took Art Ross honours in 2010-11 with 104 points and took home the Ted Lindsay Award as the league MVP voted on by the players.

Yet at the same time I never quite understood why the Sedins were not more respected around the league. In fact I dare say they are the most underrated superstars of this era. 

For some reason people who clearly don't look know a whole lot about hockey labelled them as soft. Soft is the last word to possibly describe them. They weren't gritty, but they redefined toughness.

The East Coast Bias did the Sedins no favors, as is still the case for so many west coast superstars. Too many of the pundits are in bed on the east coast before the Sedins took the opening faceoff in their game so many nights.

The Sedins embraced their adopted land as their home and are known for their work in the community. It is a community they will continue to live in until their children are fully grown, and perhaps beyond. Classy is the universally used adjective when it comes to describing them.

We know the Sedins will still be a part of the Vancouver community scene. Lets hope that, within the appropriate time frame, they are still part of the Canucks scene in some capacity, too.

If not, then we may not see the Sedins again until their undeniable inclusion in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

But for now we get one last week - three final games - to enjoy the two most unique players of our time and the two greatest players in the history of the Vancouver Canucks.