What to do about the Sedins? (Poll)

[Rocky Dennis]

Could be the Sedins have already made up thier minds, Benning knows it, and he is keeping it quiet. Could be a angle on how some GM's talk to him, or even a method to try and influence trade value in some fashion... could be the twins want to play the rest of the year and see if either gets injured before deciding. Could be they want to seee the FA market and speak with Jimbo about possible signings..

Could be a lot of things. Jus sayn.

Good points. I also wonder if Benning's current lame duck situation has any bearing on their current undecided position (if you take them at face value). Could be some back room politics going on.
Also, from Markstrom's comments last night, its beginning to sound like fractures in the dressing room might be starting to appear (or at least starting to appear publicly) - perhaps another potential factor?

[Meds]

Could be the Sedins have already made up thier minds, Benning knows it, and he is keeping it quiet. Could be a angle on how some GM's talk to him, or even a method to try and influence trade value in some fashion... could be the twins want to play the rest of the year and see if either gets injured before deciding. Could be they want to seee the FA market and speak with Jimbo about possible signings..

Could be a lot of things. Jus sayn.

Good points. I also wonder if Benning's current lame duck situation has any bearing on their current undecided position (if you take them at face value). Could be some back room politics going on.
Also, from Markstrom's comments last night, its beginning to sound like fractures in the dressing room might be starting to appear (or at least starting to appear publicly) - perhaps another potential factor?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is still too much complacency kicking around from 2012.

We've been through 3 coaches, and now onto our 4th. Vigneault was axed because the team had gone stale. Torts couldn't inspire anything out of them and only succeeded in making Hansen and Edler cry and pout (the former rarely took a night off though). Willie didn't bring anything new to the table in terms of on ice strategies or motivational ideas, and the team, with the exception of a few, were as passionless and inconsistent as ever. Green seems to be able to get more out of them than Willie did, but only in the games where he actually seems to be coaching an inspired team.

Safe to say that it's not the coaches.

From the games I've watched, the guys who seem like they could give less than a shit on any given night.....Edler, Hank, Dank, Hutton, Gagner, Eriksson, Virtanen, and Pouliot.

The guys who play hard but aren't always especially effective.....Gaunce, Del Zotto, Sutter, Granlund, Baertschi, Stetcher, Gudbranson, and Dowd.

The guys who drive the team.....Bo, Boeser, and Tanev.

The italics are players that Benning has either brought in or signed to extensions. Oddly enough the 3 names that aren't in that group are all in the first category. Vanek isn't listed because I don't know where he fits. There is the odd night where he just seems to float, but every other night he's very effective and has been a big part of our offense, and I've never seen him appear as just going through the motions like a few of the emotional eunuchs we have skating around out there.

I would really like to see what Benning does if Hank, Dank, and Edler, were gone and he had to replace them. What kind of players does he bring in to fill their spots?

[Island Nucklehead]

So when the Sedins are resigned, they get italicized?

[Meds]

So when the Sedins are resigned, they get italicized?

Yeah. Pretty much. If Benning signs them they are a part of what he wants to build.

[Carl Yagro]

One more year, 10-12 minutes a game PP-specialists.

All it means is this teams still needs some mortar for the bricks that they're adding to the foundation.

Are two vets that are still capable of playing consistently at a relatively high level for all 82 games... not better than hoping for the same from the Bouchers & Goldobins in the system?

We're talking about depth support for the continuing development of the important pieces of this team. Bo, Brock, Pettersson, Jake, Juolevi etc.

Everyone else is a placeholder and a moveable asset.

I don't see complacency. I see impatience.

[Madcombinepilot]

So when the Sedins are resigned, they get italicized?

Yeah. Pretty much. If Benning signs them they are a part of what he wants to build.

There is no way that statement has any long term consequence. They may play a year or even 2 more.. GM's don't rebuild a team for a 2 year period. So what if they play a couple years.. they are skating well enough these last 15-20 games, it's not really an issue. What more do you expect from third line players on a rebuilding team. The Canucks are forging a new identity every game they play (around Horvat and Boeser) and flushing the twins won't make that happen any faster.

[ESQ]

From the games I've watched, the guys who seem like they could give less than a shit on any given night.....Edler, Hank, Dank, Hutton, Gagner, Eriksson, Virtanen, and Pouliot.

Vanek isn't listed because I don't know where he fits. There is the odd night where he just seems to float, but every other night he's very effective and has been a big part of our offense, and I've never seen him appear as just going through the motions like a few of the emotional eunuchs we have skating around out there.

Its a real shame, what we're getting from Vanek is exactly what I expected we'd get from Eriksson - mostly dispassionate, but effective secondary offence in the 50-60 point range.

If Eriksson wasn't on the books, I'd be fine with Vanek getting 3x$6 mil this offseason (which would take him to the same age as Eriksson at the end of his contract).

But then again, Vanek is putting together a solid year at 34. Its possible we haven't seen the best of Loui yet...

[Cornuck]

It's possible we haven't seen the best of Loui yet...

There's that Canuck Fan optimism we're so famous for!

[Blob Mckenzie]

From the games I've watched, the guys who seem like they could give less than a shit on any given night.....Edler, Hank, Dank, Hutton, Gagner, Eriksson, Virtanen, and Pouliot.

Vanek isn't listed because I don't know where he fits. There is the odd night where he just seems to float, but every other night he's very effective and has been a big part of our offense, and I've never seen him appear as just going through the motions like a few of the emotional eunuchs we have skating around out there.

Its a real shame, what we're getting from Vanek is exactly what I expected we'd get from Eriksson - mostly dispassionate, but effective secondary offence in the 50-60 point range.

If Eriksson wasn't on the books, I'd be fine with Vanek getting 3x$6 mil this offseason (which would take him to the same age as Eriksson at the end of his contract).

But then again, Vanek is putting together a solid year at 34. Its possible we haven't seen the best of Loui yet...

Yes let’s triple Vaneks money and term if we didn’t have the cinder block of Erikssons contract

[Carl Yagro]

Yes let’s triple Vaneks money and term if we didn’t have the cinder block of Erikssons contract

Stop making me agree with you Blob.

[Meds]

So when the Sedins are resigned, they get italicized?

Yeah. Pretty much. If Benning signs them they are a part of what he wants to build.

There is no way that statement has any long term consequence. They may play a year or even 2 more.. GM's don't rebuild a team for a 2 year period. So what if they play a couple years.. they are skating well enough these last 15-20 games, it's not really an issue. What more do you expect from third line players on a rebuilding team. The Canucks are forging a new identity every game they play (around Horvat and Boeser) and flushing the twins won't make that happen any faster.

Well it’s not like I implied a positive or negative in that statement. Just that if a GM signs a player to a contract he is saying that he thinks said player is going to contribute to his overall vision of the team.

[Cornuck]

Just that if a GM signs a player to a contract he is saying that he thinks said player is going to contribute to his overall vision of the team.

But there's a difference in that statement when applied to a Vanek vs the Sedins.

If we're talking about the Sedins, then yes - the GM is making a statement of sorts. As some have said, "Cut them loose, we don't need them around anymore" - while a signing will say "we still appreciate what they have to offer in terms of skill and leadership".

They can still contribute on the ice, but I think some fans don't want them to 'lead' the team anymore. How that plays out is up to the team from GM down to the lowest placeholders. Will they hand over the C & A? Is Bo ready to lead the team? Maybe Brock is our next captain- he's got a ton of character, he's just young. Will the new leaders be ready to call out the vets? Maybe that's what led to Markstrom's comments (perhaps, nobody is calling out anyone in the dressing room?).

Then there's the whole "Team Pacifist" aura that's been around the Canucks since before 2011. Will having the Sedins around keep that going, or is it now ingrained on the team?

I hope that when the Sedins sign, they do it for a year at a time, hand over the letters and help the kids take the reins next year. What goes on in the dressing room we can only guess at, but from outward appearances, the Sedins have been nothing but pros on and off the ice.

[Madcombinepilot]

So when the Sedins are resigned, they get italicized?

Yeah. Pretty much. If Benning signs them they are a part of what he wants to build.

There is no way that statement has any long term consequence. They may play a year or even 2 more.. GM's don't rebuild a team for a 2 year period. So what if they play a couple years.. they are skating well enough these last 15-20 games, it's not really an issue. What more do you expect from third line players on a rebuilding team. The Canucks are forging a new identity every game they play (around Horvat and Boeser) and flushing the twins won't make that happen any faster.

Well it’s not like I implied a positive or negative in that statement. Just that if a GM signs a player to a contract he is saying that he thinks said player is going to contribute to his overall vision of the team.

sorry, I wasn't meaning negative connotation of your statement of resigning the twins, I meant that it has no real long term consequences one way or the other.. Next year we will probably compete for a playoff spot (may or may not make it), and the year after, it would be nice to win a round or 2.. but 3 years from now, when we are seriously competing, I cant see the twins still here then so in that interim, it doesn't really affect the team one way or the other.

simpler put, If the twins are gone, we are filling 2 holes with veterans who will be gone in 2-3 years. If they stay, they are gone in 2-3 years. No cap implications either way, so it doesn't really matter. This is just something that the bag licking media are getting their panties in a knot over. building drama out of nothing.

[Per]

I took the liberty to translate an article in Aftonbladet's sports section, Sportbladet:

DALLAS. It will, in all likelyhood, be a spring without playoff hockey in Vancouver this year as well.
But Daniel and Henrik Sedin have great hope for a great future for the team in their heart. The question remains whether the twins themselves will be part of that future – or if they will retire after this, their seventeenth, NHL season. Answer: that will be decided this summer.
“A big decision like that must be well thought through, so we will finish this season first and then sit down with our families and see how it feels,” they say when Sportbladet meets them at a luxury hotel in Dallas during yet another cross continental road trip.

Things looked promising for a while this fall.
Spurred on by a band of new eager young men – with the rookie sensation Brock Boeser at the forefront – the Canucks played their spritziest hockey in many years and were in the race till at least the end of November.
But then they suffered several severe injuries, lost their spark and finally the floor fell out under them. Now they find themselves nailed to the bottom of the barrel with sixteen desolate points between them and the cutoff line – and assuming no miracles occur the West Canadian team will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third year running.

“Especially sad this year”

Sad – not least for Daniel and Henrik Sedin. They are closing in on the inevitable end of a long and glorious twin career and deserve a happier ending, according to a reasonably unanimous hockey world.

“Yeah, no, this is not that fun. The last few years have been tough,” the now 37-year old twins say as we meet them in the lobby of the luxurious Ritz-Carlton in Dallas, where the Canucks finish yet another one of their long road trips across the North American continent.
“It is especialy sad this year, because this season it felt like the team had a shot at taking a great leap forward, for two months we were definitely in the running. But then the injuries came and we couldn’t really handle that. When you are going through a rebuild like this, the roster tends to lack the depth necessary and you end up being more vulnerable.”

The two veterans stretch out in their large lush Ritz armchairs. They flew in the night before from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Dallas – a three and a half hour flight – and stumbled into their rooms in the wee hours.
“But it was perfect. We arrived just in time to see Charlotte Kalla win gold in South Korea. Fantastic!” Henrik cheers.
The only downside:
If the NHL bosses had only had sense enough to let their players participate in the Olympics, they could probably have been watching Super-Kalla’s race from the stands instead.

Misses the Olympics

Danne – who a few days before our meeting was hit in the mouth by a puck in Tampa and lost five teeth and to his brother’s amusement sounds a bit funny when he talks, nods consent.
“It is of course a bit sad that we have been robbed of perhaps our last chance to participate at the Olympic Games. You remember especially things like the ski races in Sochi. We watched Kalla race there and it was a great experience.”
“At the same time we were lucky enough to be on the gold winning team in Italy in 2006. So there’s no need to pity us. It’s worse for the younger players, who are in their prime right now, players like Victor Hedman and Rickard Rakell. It must be a terrible blow for them to not get to participate. Hopefully they get a new chance four years from now.”

Believe in a bright future

It is this kind of concern for their younger friends – and in this case the ones they see every day – that makes Daniel and Henrik mobilise all the strength they have for what is left of the season, despite that it is for all practical matters already lost.
”You never give up until the theoretical chance is completely gone, but perhaps what is most important is not whether we win or lose the 25-30 games remaining, but how we play,” they say.
“It’s incredibly important that all young guys fighting for a place on the roster over the next few years get to experience that we play the right way. Otherwise there is a huge risk that it will be the same next season again. So we still have a lot to work for and it still feels exciting.”

Because, in that case, if they can make sure that the losing mentality that has become ingrained in certain other organisations does not set root in Vancouver, the duo of brothers is convinced that Vancouver has a bright future ahead of it.
”Absolutely,” says Henrik. ”We have a lot of talent coming up within the organisation. Boeser, for example, is possibly the best rookie in the league, and soon Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Dahlén will arrive as well. There is a lot of talk about the new young Swedes up there, everyone has a lot of hope in them. There are a lot of positives, despite all.
”Then again, you can see in lots of places that it’s not enough to just bring in a lot of young players and think that things will work out by themselves. It doesn’t matter how talented you are; if you do not find the right Wy to think and learn how to win, it can get very tough and take a very long time. And this is why, as we said, it is so important how we finish this season.”

May retire at the end of the season

The question remains whether Daniel and Henrik – who by a wide margin are the active Swedes who have played the longest in the league – will be a part of that future.
As it turns out they haven’t decided yet.
They stick by their decision to remain with the Canucks for the rest of their careers and are thus not willing to be traded as rentals for a shot at winning the Stanley Cup elsewhere.

Yet they haven’t decided whether to sign any new contracts when their current ones expire this summer.
The best twins in the world may after seventeen seasons in the NHL – and before that three with Modo in the SHL – decide to retire.
“We have said we will decide after this season,” Daniel tells us.
“That big a decision has to be thoroughly thought through, it’s not something you just decide on a whim after a game. So we will finish the season in April and then sit down with our families and the team and think through how it will be.”

What will determin the decision?
A lot.

”You have to weigh in all sorts of stuff,” Henrik explains. “Family, travel, how the body feels, what the team looks like and what role we would have. And what the team wants. It’s not like we could just continue because we feel like it, you also need to know that you are needed and can contribute. Sure, we have shown this season that we still can play and produce points and it’s nice we don’t have to worry about that. But still. It’s a lot to ponder. We will see.”

One decision has already been taken:
There will be no more World Championships for the Sedins.
“No, we got to win gold on home turf in 2013 and there is no topping that. So we talked to Rickard Grönborg and explained that that feels like the perfect ending with the national team.”

Instead the Sedin brothers will focus all their energy on the future of the Vancouver Canucks, whether they will be a part of it or not.

Per Bjurman

[Ronning's Ghost]

I took the liberty to translate an article in Aftonbladet's sports section, Sportbladet:

Thanks Per.