Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #2 – Daniel Sedin
Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #2 – Daniel Sedin
Well, our final two spots had to go to the Sedins twins. But at the second spot, we have Daniel.
In the 1999 NHL draft, Brian Burke made a handful of trades which would change the trajectory of the Vancouver Canucks franchise for years to come. Sitting at third overall, the Canucks General Manager needed to pull off a trio of deals in order to land the second overall pick to draft the twins.
First, Burke traded defenceman Bryan McCabe, along with a 2000 or 2001 first-round pick, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for the fourth overall pick. He then flipped the fourth overall pick, along with a pair of third-round picks, to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first overall pick. Burke found out the Atlanta Thrashers intended to select Patrik Stefan first overall. With that information, Burke traded the first overall to the Thrashers for second overall and a 2000 third-round pick.
His plan came to fruition, as the Thrashers took Stefan, and the Canucks drafted Daniel second and Henrik at third.
The brothers spent their draft-plus-one season in Sweden before coming overseas for their rookie 2000-01 campaign. Daniel made a good first impression, scoring 20 goals in his first season. However, the following three seasons were somewhat underwhelming, with 41 goals and 76 assists for 117 points in 240 games. However, after the lockout season and the West Coast Express era began to decline, the Sedins started to take over.
In 2005-06, the twins were paired with one-hit wonder Anson Carter, who helped elevate their game. Daniel reached career highs in goals (22), assists (49) and points (71) in a full 82-game season in which they evolved from depth scorers to top-six players.
The following season, Daniel continued to step up his game, hitting new highs in goals (36), assists (48) and points (84) in 81 games, narrowly edging out his brother for the team lead in points. The jump helped the Canucks win the Northwest Division after a one-year hiatus. Daniel added two goals and five points in 12 games, but the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks eliminated the Canucks in five games.
2007-08 saw the Canucks take a step back, but Daniel still produced with 29 goals and 45 assists for 74 points. After struggling to find a consistent right winger that season, Daniel would find a long-time linemate on the opposite wing in Alex Burrows following the 2009 All-Star break. The Canucks would bounce back to first in the Northwest Division with the help of Daniel hitting the 30-goal plateau again. Vancouver would fall to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games of the second round.
It was the 2009-2010 season in which true Sedinery caught the league by storm. The Sedins and Burrows became one of the most feared lines in the entire NHL. Unfortunately for Daniel, he missed 19 games this season with a fractured foot. However, that didn’t slow him down from reaching a new career high with 85 points in just 63 games. Including this absolutely stunning between-the-legs goal in Game 82 to help his brother win the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point-scorer:
The Canucks won the Pacific Division for the third time in four seasons, but went on to fall to the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round for the second consecutive season – Chicago went on to win the Stanley Cup.
While the 2009-10 season was Henrik’s year, the 2010-11 season was Daniel’s, marking the next step into superstardom.
As his brother did the previous year, Daniel won the Art Ross Trophy after becoming a 40-goal scorer and 100-point player for the first time in his career. He also took home the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player in the regular season, voted on by his peers. However, Sedin fell short of winning the Hart Trophy, finishing second to 50-goal Corey Perry. Daniel was also named to his second straight All-Star game.
But it was the playoff run that Canucks fans will remember forever. Daniel’s remarkable regular season helped the organization capture their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history.
Daniel rolled his successful regular season into the postseason, picking up six points in seven games as the Canucks slayed the dragon. He added another six points in six games against the Nashville Predators, and his six points in five games against the San Jose Sharks brought him to a point-per-game in the playoffs heading into the Stanley Cup Final.
After their 1-0 Game 1 victory, Daniel would tie the game up halfway through the third period of Game 2 and pick up the primary assist in Burrows’ overtime winner, just 11 seconds into the first overtime.
Unfortunately, we all know how this series would end. The Canucks would struggle away from home and fall short of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in Game 7. After the series, Daniel revealed that he had been nursing a back and shoulder injury throughout the Finals.
The Canucks had no Stanley Cup Final hangover in 2011-12, as they repeated as Presidents’ Trophy winners. However, Daniel had his season cut to just 72 games, following a blatant flying elbow from Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith in late March that left him with a concussion.
Sedin had 30 goals and 67 points up to that point. His concussion held him out for Games 1-3 of the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings, before he returned for Games 4 and 5, picking up an assist in each game before losing the series in five games – again, to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.
Daniel’s production continued as the seasons rolled on, but the Canucks as a whole began to decline. Over the next few seasons, the Canucks’ 2011 core started to disintegrate, as Roberto Luongo, Ryan Kesler, and Kevin Bieksa were all traded over the following three seasons. The Canucks returned to the playoffs under John Tortorella in 2014-2015, but lost that series in six games. This was the last taste of playoff action Daniel would see in his career.
Fast forward to what became the Sedins’ last season in 2017-18, the then 37-year-olds abruptly announced their retirement in the final week of the season. Daniel left the Canucks fans in Rogers Arena with a storybook ending: scoring an overtime winning goal, assisted by his brother, Henrik, and fellow countryman and long-time teammate Alex Edler. The goal was scored 2:33 into overtime time – even more Sedinery.
Daniel’s 393 goals still rank first in Canucks history to this day. He also leads the franchise in power play goals (138) and shots on goal (3,474). Daniel trails only his brother in games played (1,306), assists (648) and points (1,041), firmly cementing himself as one of the best Canucks of all time. Fans will always remember him when they see the number 22 in the rafters or when they visit the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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
Oilers Cleared in Evander Kane LTIR Investigation
The NHL has closed its investigation into the Edmonton Oilers' usage of long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and found no wrongdoing, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told reporters Tuesday. As a result, the Oilers will not receive any punishment, either retroactive or for the upcoming season.
The investigation centered on Edmonton's handling of forward Evander Kane, who did not play at all during the regular season but returned for Game 2 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. He then scored six goals and 12 points in 21 playoff games while averaging 16:29 of ice time to help the Oilers reach their second-straight Stanley Cup Final, where they once again lost to the Florida Panthers.
Kane being on LTIR took his $5.125 million cap hit off the Oilers' books, which helped them acquire defenseman Jake Walman and forward Trent Frederic at the trade deadline. The Oilers were far from the first team to use this loophole to add players at the deadline, but for unknown reasons, the league decided to look into their usage of it more closely.
The league is set to close this loophole with the new CBA, which won't fully go into effect until the 2026-27 season, but some changes are already going into effect this season.
Starting this season, teams will be retired to ice a cap-compliant lineup for each playoff game, whereas the salary cap previously ceased to take effect once the postseason rolled around. Teams such as the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights have iced lineups far above the cap in previous years, though not without significant controversy.
Teams will also receive less LTIR relief for injured players, now capping out at around $3.8 million for one player instead of their full cap hit. This has already had major ramifications around the league, most recently forcing the Montreal Canadiens to trade the contract of legendary goaltender Carey Price after previously having his entire $10.5 million cap hit off the books for the past few years.
The Oilers traded Kane, 34, to the Vancouver Canucks this offseason in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick. The trade was mostly to clear his salary with major extensions due over the next year and change.
Kane scored 62 goals and 111 points in 162 regular season games during his time in Edmonton, plus 26 goals and 42 points in 68 postseason games.
