Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #1 – Henrik Sedin

Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #1 – Henrik Sedin

Well, it all comes down to this. For 50 straight days, we profiled the top 50 players in Vancouver Canucks history. We examined the tenures of players from different eras, all of whom had different stories and journeys that cemented them into the Canucks history books. Well, two of them actually had a pretty similar story and journey actually…

They are identical twins, after all.

When we started this series, the easiest part was hands down determining who we’d slot in at number one and two. Daniel was yesterday, and today, it’s his brother Henrik at number one.

What can you even say about the twins that hasn’t already been said? First ballot Hall of Famers, revered by players around the league both past and present, and the Canucks’ first and second highest all time point getters. The Sedins are the only players to put up 800 points with the Canucks. They’re also the only players to tally 900 points with the Canucks. And you guessed it, they’re also the only two names on the Canucks’ all time scoring leaders list who have eclipsed 1000 points.

There have been only 98 other players to tally 1000 points in NHL history, and the list of players who did all with one team is even shorter. The list of players who did it with one team and were also the captain of the team is even shorter.

Tyson Cole did a good job of breaking down the Sedins’ career and history in his piece about Daniel yesterday. How they were drafted together after some remarkable work by then Canucks GM Brian Burke, how they grew as players together, and how they eventually took over as leaders from the West Coast Express era of Canucks players.

It was there — when Daniel and Henrik took over and started to instill their values into the team’s culture — that the Canucks became one of the NHL’s true powerhouses. Everyone was pulling on the same rope, everyone felt welcomed and as though they mattered, and the 2010-11 Canucks are widely considered the greatest team in franchise history.

For Henrik specifically, the points really started coming following the 2005 lockout. A playmaking machine, Henrik put up 50 or more assists in seven straight seasons from 2005-06 to 2011-12. He won the Art Ross and Hart Trophy in 2009-10 after he led the NHL in points with 112, and also took home the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2016 and 2017. That trophy is awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.

While both he and his brother’s on-ice impact alone certainly warrants their spots at one and two on this list, it’s everything Henrik and Daniel did off the ice and how much they meant to the city of Vancouver that makes them such no brainers for the top spots. All the visits to BC Children’s Hospital, all the donations to various causes around the city, and so much more put Henrik and Daniel Sedin in a class of their own when it comes to all-time great Canucks.

It’s only fitting that we conclude this series by recognizing and honouring that the two greatest Canucks of all time happen to be a pair of identical twins.

Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all time:

#50 – Curt Fraser
#49 – Dave Babych
#48 – Martin Gelinas
#47 – Chris Oddleifson
#46 – Jannik Hansen
#45 – Ivan Boldirev
#44 – Gary Smith
#43 – Jacob Markstrom
#42 – Orland Kurtenbach
#41 – Harold Snepsts
#40 – Darcy Rota
#39 – Thatcher Demko
#38 – Geoff Courtnall
#37 – Dennis Ververgaert
#36 – Petri Skriko
#35 – Dan Hamhuis
#34 – Doug Lidster
#33 – Patrik Sundstrom
#32 – Brendan Morrison
#31 – Richard Brodeur
#30 – Sami Salo
#29 – André Boudrais
#28 – Kevin Bieksa
#27 – Don Lever
#26 – Bo Horvat
#25 – Brock Boeser
#24 – Dennis Kearns
#23 – Ed Jovanovski
#22 – Greg Adams
#21 – Cliff Ronning
#20 – JT Miller
#19 – Tony Tanti
#18 – Jyrki Lumme
#17 – Elias Pettersson
#16 – Alex Burrows
#15 – Alexander Mogilny
#14 – Mattias Ohlund
#13 – Thomas Gradin
#12 – Stan Smyl
#11 – Alex Edler
#10 – Todd Bertuzzi
#9 – Kirk McLean
#8 – Ryan Kesler
#7 – Markus Naslund
#6 – Trevor Linden
#5 – Quinn Hughes
#4 – Roberto Luongo
#3 – Pavel Bure
#2 – Daniel Sedin