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Welcome back to The Hockey News – Vancouver Canucks site’s Coaches as Players series. Last time, we looked at assistant coach Brett McLean’s time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, and Florida Panthers. Today’s player needs no introduction to the Canucks fanbase, so let’s dive right into player development coach Daniel Sedin’s historic career with Vancouver.
In one of the most memorable NHL Draft moments in the league’s history, Sedin was taken second overall in the 1999 NHL Draft alongside twin brother, Henrik. Canucks General Manager at the time, Brian Burke, pulled off an elaborate asset-gymnastics routine in order to acquire the second-overall pick, allowing Vancouver to pick second and third overall. With the two selections, both Sedins ended up in Vancouver, marking the start of what would be two of the most spellbinding NHL careers in franchise history.
Sedin’s first season with the Canucks was 2000–01, during which he scored 20 goals and 14 assists in 75 games played. During this year, he and the Canucks made the playoffs, but were quickly swept in the first round by a Colorado Avalanche team that sported current Canucks head coach Adam Foote. The three following seasons followed a similar pattern, with Sedin’s 2003–04 season ending with a total of 18 goals and 36 assists collected — a career-high at the time.
The NHL lockout of 2004–05 resulted in Sedin heading back to Sweden to play. He signed with his former club, MoDo Hockey of Elitserien, where he picked up 13 goals and 20 assists in 49 games. This same year, Sedin represented Sweden internationally, tallying five goals and four assists in nine IIHF World Championship games and placing fifth in tournament scoring.
Something shifted when Sedin returned to the Canucks post-lockout. In 2005–06, he scored 22 goals and 49 assists in an 82-game season, setting a new career high that would only be broken the season after. He also hit the 200-mark in shots registered in a single season for the first time in his career. The year after, Sedin posted his first season in which he registered more than one point per game. He scored 36 goals and 48 assists in 81 games, with 34 of these points coming on the power play. In this postseason, Sedin and the Canucks defeated the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round, but unfortunately lost to the Anaheim Ducks in five games the series after.
While Sedin and the Canucks didn’t make the playoffs in 2007–08, this was the only season in which Vancouver failed to qualify for postseason contention from 2006 to 2014. Sedin recorded his second 30-goal season in 2008–09, tallying 31 and 51 assists in all 82 games. This particular season marked a shift for the Canucks, as captain Markus Näslund departed from the team and goaltender Roberto Luongo was subsequently given the title. In the postseason, Sedin averaged a point per game with four goals and six assists, though the Canucks lost to the Blackhawks in six games after sweeping the St. Louis Blues in the first round.
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2009–10 was another offensively-successful season for Sedin, both in the regular season and playoffs, as the younger Sedin scored 29 goals and 56 assists in 63 regular season games. During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Sedin represented Sweden with a goal and two assists in four games. In the playoffs later on in the calendar year, he tallied five goals and nine assists in a 12-game postseason run that saw Vancouver lose in six games to the Blackhawks yet again.
Individually speaking, the 2010–11 season was Sedin’s most successful. Posting his first 40-goal and 100-point season, he finished the year with 41 goals and 63 assists in all 82 games. These efforts won him the Art Ross Trophy (given to the NHL’s points leader) and Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player, voted on by players). This was also his first full season wearing the ‘A’ as one of the Canucks’ assistant captains.
For the team as a whole, the 2010–11 season was one of hope and heartbreak. Vancouver finished their regular season at the top of the Western Conference with a record of 54–19–9 and 117 points, including a startling goal differential of +77. They bested their demons in the first round after taking Chicago to seven games and defeating them at home in overtime thanks to dragon-slayer Alex Burrows. They trounced the Nashville Predators in six games and took down the San Jose Sharks at home in five, sending them to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994. Everyone knows what happened after that.
By the end of their 25-game playoff run in 2011, Sedin had nine goals and 11 assists. He continued this offensive push in 2011–12 with another 30-goal season, during which he also scored 37 assists in 72 games. Sedin played in two of Vancouver’s five playoff games that season, posting two assists in the team’s first-round exit against the Los Angeles Kings.
The seasons that followed were, to put it bluntly, bleak. Vancouver failed to get past the first round in 2013 and 2015, and ultimately didn’t end up making the postseason again until 2020. In a time when many of those Stanley Cup Final players ended up moving on, both of the Sedins stayed in Vancouver, remaining true to the organization that drafted them back in 1999. Despite getting older, Sedin still led the Canucks in points for a few seasons up until former captain Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser eventually took his place. In his final NHL season in 2017–18, Sedin still scored 23 goals and 32 assists in 81 games.
After retirement, Sedin had his number ‘22’ retired by the Canucks alongside brother Henrik’s ‘33’. In 2022, both brothers, as well as teammate Luongo, were named to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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