It was a thing of beauty. There was the Canucks’ captain, Henrik Sedin, poised on the precipice of 999 NHL points, on a two-on-one rush with his twin brother Daniel. Daniel feathered a sweet pass over to Henrik, who backhanded some poetry in motion between the legs of Florida’s goalie. That ’tender was, of course, his ex-teammate and old friend, Roberto Luongo. And all of this in front of a home crowd. James Cameron couldn’t have directed it better.
It was just like old times. I was off my couch and cheering for the Canucks, cheering for Daniel and Henrik, and marvelling at their Swedish touch. One-thousand points for Henrik and Daniel not far behind! Canucks history made! When I sank back down, a bit of reality sank in, too. The achievement was truly amazing, but I couldn’t help but feel that it was also bittersweet. Am I the only Canucks fan who would trade in 700-or-so of those points for one Stanley Cup?
It’s been almost six years since the Canucks lost the Cup to the Boston Bruins in their brutal seven-game series. It was finesse (Canucks) versus goons on skates (Bruins). The NHL is a copycat league, and had the Canucks won that series, you could bet like Gretzky that the league would have leaned far more toward Olympics-like skill than the smashmouth-hockey that dominated the NHL for several seasons following the Bruins’ win.
Despite the Sedins’ remarkable regular-season success, it’s never been an easy skate. When they arrived in Vancouver from small-town Sweden back in 1999, they were awkward and gangly. I remember seeing them wandering around downtown, always together, and looking somewhat bewildered.
When the twins hit the ice in 2000, it was pretty much the same thing. They didn’t have the immediate impact that other Canucks superstars like Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden did. But little by little, with the reliability of a twin-turbo Volvo, the twins put up numbers and eventually turned most of their linemates into scoring stars. Just ask Jason King, Trent Klatt, Taylor Pyatt, Anson Carter and, especially, Alex Burrows. Most of them have said that you just had to keep your stick on the ice – the twins would find you.
Playing an honest, clean game of outrageous puck possession, the likes of which the league had rarely seen before, Henrik and Daniel rose through the ranks of the Canucks and the league, becoming first-line, league-leading all-stars. Pretty much every team in the NHL adopted their patented slap-pass. They won scoring races and MVP awards, and have been nothing but prime examples of commitment and poise on and off the ice. They’ve played a thinking-person’s style of hockey that you should be proud to show off to your kids, and their jerseys will be raised into the rafters pretty much the day after they retire. The Hall of Fame will likely come calling for the ultra-talented twins.
And then there was the Stanley Cup run of 2011. The Sedins and the Canucks “slayed the dragon” that was the beastly Chicago Blackhawks, then laid waste to the Predators and the Sharks. The Bruins were next, and we all know how that went up in smoke.
I’ve never quite gotten over the events of the spring of 2011 (downtown riot included), so I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t been paying close attention to the Canucks for the past few seasons. When I have tuned in, I’ve been unimpressed with the entertainment factor. But the TV was on last week for the Panthers game and point number 1,000, and I’m very glad I saw it happen. Vancouver sports fans should feel blessed to have watched the twins make magic on ice for the past 16 seasons and counting.
So, congratulations on 1,000 points, Henrik. I just wish that trophy case full of individual awards and statistics had one more: the chalice it takes an entire team to win.
