Sedins announce they will call it a career at the end of the season

Daniel and Henrik Sedin have announced in an open letter to fans they will retire at the end of the season. Photo courtesy NHL.

The end of the Vancouver Canucks’ season Saturday will also close the book on the careers of the top two scorers in team history.

In an open letter to Canucks’ fans, Henrik and Daniel Sedin announced this will be their last season.

Both started their NHL careers with Vancouver in 2000.

“We started the year with the mindset that a decision would be made in the postseason. But it became clear, after discussions with our families throughout the year, that this will be our last season,” the 37-year-old twins said in the letter announcing their retirement on the Canucks’ website.

“This feels right for all of us.”

Henrik Sedin is the all-time Canucks’ leading scorer with 1,068 points in 1,327 games.

He won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer in the 2009-10 season with 112 points and also took the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player that year.

Daniel Sedin is the Canucks’ all-time leader in goals with 391 and is second to his brother in career points with 1,038 in 1,303 games played.

Daniel was the NHL’s leading scorer in 2010-11 with 104 points and won the Ted Lindsay Award that season as the most outstanding player, which is voted on by the players.

The pair is still helping lead the Canucks attack, with Daniel second in team scoring with 52 points, while Henrik is third with 48 points.

“We’re saying it now because we want to share these final three games with you. We also want to share these games with our families, friends, teammates, coaches, trainers, staff and everyone at the Canucks who have supported us,” the Sedins said.

With Brian Burke at the helm as General Manager, the Canucks managed to get both Sedins at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, taking Daniel second and Henrik third overall.

Burke pulled off one of the most memorable deals in draft day history after trading defenceman Bryan McCabe and the Canucks’ third overall pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth overall selection.

The Canucks then acquired the first overall pick from Tampa Bay for the fourth pick and two third-round selections.

To ensure they picked the Sedins and brought them to the stage at the same time, the Canucks flipped the first pick to Atlanta for the second choice.

The Thrashers chose Patrik Stefan first overall.

In their letter, the Sedins said Vancouver has become their home and plan to be part of the city long after their retirement.

They closed the letter by saying, “In the meantime, we still have some games to play, and we still have some work to do.”

The Canucks will not qualify for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The final week of the regular season will see Vancouver host Vegas Tuesday, Arizona Thursday and wrap up the year in Edmonton Saturday.

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