The Brothers Sedin

It seems as though the identical twins are never going to be separated. With Daniel and Henrik Sedin signing identical (obviously) four-year, $28 million contracts, the two brothers who were drafted together are going to finish their impressive NHL careers with the Vancouver Canucks.

These contract negotiations raised two questions in my mind when I first learned of them. First, why did the Sedins agree to such a modest amount of money to stay with the Canucks when they could have clearly gotten more had they tested the free agent market at season's end? And second, how is it possible that these two stars have been playing together their entire careers?

The Sedin twins would have been the top free agents along with their fellow Swedish countryman Henrik Lundqvist heading into the 2014 offseason. Instead of testing the open market and likely receiving significantly larger contracts from another NHL franchise, Canucks GM Mike Gillis wasted no time re-signing the Sedins to contract extensions that will expire after the 2017-18 season when the brothers are 37 years old, likely making them Canucks for life.

The negotiations were easier for both sides this time compared to 2009 offseason when both players became unrestricted free agents in Gillis' first year as GM. That year it took a last-minute flight to their native Sweden for Gillis to re-sign the twins to their current contracts. The talks lasted four months this time, but Vancouver was able to get the brothers signed before they entered the market. Gillis said the only sticking point this time was the salary cap and ensuring there was enough money left to spend elsewhere.

Ultimately, the answer to the first question is multi-faceted. First, the Sedins absolutely love playing in Vancouver and are dedicated to bringing the franchise its very first Stanley Cup. Second, the Sedins did not want to risk being forced to sign with different teams. They play their best when they are out on the ice together. Additionally, with the signing of Coach John Tortorella, (who loves to play his first line) they will get ample opportunities to display their twin telepathy out on the ice.

The second question requires a look back to the 1999 draft in which Daniel and Henrik were taken second and third overall. One might ask just how the Canucks were able to finagle these back-to-back high draft picks and the answer is a whole lot of wheeling and dealing by Vancouver's GM at the time, Brian Burke. The discussions with other teams continued until minutes before the draft was about to begin. His maneuvers included:

1. The wheeling and dealing began when Vancouver sent defenseman Bryan McCabe and a 2000 first-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth overall pick.

2. Brian Burke then sent the number four overall selection and a pair of third-round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top overall pick.

3. Lastly, Vancouver sent the top pick to the expansion Atlanta Thrashers for the number two selection and a conditional 2000 third-rounder. The deal being that the Thrashers would take Patrik Stefan, leaving the Canucks to take the Sedins in sequential order.

This daring sequence of moves has been referred to as the "Sedin Heist". Obviously no one could have foreseen the Sedin twins having such great success at the NHL level, but they were by far the best skaters in the weak '99 draft class and Burke certainly deserves praise for pulling off the necessary moves to bring the identical twins to Vancouver.

The two superstars mean a lot to the Canucks organization as well as the surrounding Vancouver community, "Daniel and Henrik are exemplary leaders, teammates and humanitarians and we're very pleased to have them as part of our team for the long-term," said general manager Mike Gillis. "Few players in the history of this club have had more significant roles in contributing to the success of this team and to our community and we look forward to many more years with their positive influence leading the way."

In addition to being the Canucks' captain, Henrik is the franchise's all-time leader in points (810), assists (625), plus/minus (plus-209) and consecutive games played (644), an ironman streak that's second to St. Louis Blues defenseman Jaw Bouwmeester among active players.

 

Younger (by minutes) brother Daniel, an alternate captain, is second in franchise history in scoring with 773 points. He is Vancouver's all-time leader with 64 game-winning goals and 10 overtime goals.