The Sedins

 The Vancouver Canucks are not "my" team....but they are my Aunt Linda's and that is good enough for me.

The Canucks have long been a great hockey team and in 2011 were one win away from hoisting Lord Stanley above their heads. What happened after that loss (The Riot) has been a stain on a great city, and we are all, I think, trying to put that one behind us.

Controversy has also followed Goaltender Roberto Luongo, as the on again off again love affair with the city has grown a bit tiresome. In my humble opinion, Luongo is a top 5 goalie in the NHL, and if I owned a team, strictly from a performance standpoint....I would be happy to have him. (Aunt Linda might disagree....she does have her own opinions as well)

Roberto - By The Numbers.- I am not sure what you think is the best way to "judge a goalie" but I am a fan of save percentage. When you shoot a puck at a goalie, what percentage of the time does the netminder stop the puck. A fair assessment. Did you know that Luongo  is in the top 5 -All Time?

There are some good goaltenders on this list....and check out "Lou's" Games played. Pretty Impressive long time goalie.

I digress. This was not the purpose of this blog. Why has Vancouver been so successful for so long? Two reasons....or is it one? The Sedin Brothers. Henrick and Daniel. They "are" the Vancouver Canucks.

The brothers have free agency coming up (or did) - and could command a pretty penny on the open market. Whether they went as a pair, or individually...they would make some big coin.       
There has lot of joke about the twins of late, from various media types....I don't get it really. Maybe I don't get the "joke".  I have heard things like...why can't they get their own life? Why do they always have to be together? Why Why Why?

I say why not? If you have a team, any team...do you not want guys that get along? Do you not want guys that understand each other, support each other...make each other better? - I say a BIG yes to that. Good chemistry is always good for a team. Period. And the Sedin's  ooze chemistry. Simply put...they get it. They understand the game.

By the numbers.

Henrick has played 955 games in the NHL (all with Vancouver) and has 185 goals and 625 assists for 810 points..  Impressive playmaker to say the least.
Daniel has played 921 games and has 297 goals and 476 assists for 773 points. Wow.

So...to quickly summarize, I see two players that share the puck, rarely miss games and are always a positive addition to the ice.

They just resigned with Vancouver this week. The Swedish twins signed for 4 years for $28 million each. Some say they could have inked bigger deals elsewhere, if they decided to at free agency. I say to those people "GET A LIFE"!

You know I am a hopeless romantic that likes the feel good story. This story is right up there in the "Feel Good" archives.

1. They like playing for the Canucks.
2. They like living in Vancouver.
3. Their families also love the city. (who wouldn't)
4. They love playing on the same team

Kind of a no brainer. Every single year the Canucks are in the playoffs and contend. No kidding. Look at the numbers.

...and if you are worried they signed for "less" then they should have....let's play my favorites numbers game. $7 million translates to roughly $270,000 every 2 weeks (how much do you make every two weeks?) -
...if you make $80,000 per year (a decent salary) you need to work 87.5 years to make what they make in 1 year. Depressing (for us) - but, lets not get caught up in numbers all the time.

Bottom line...I have always admired guys who can play an entire career with one team. It is incredibly rare. But...I like it. Sure the Sedin's would like a Stanley Cup, and they might get one with Vancouver. Good Luck boys.




Oh, btw, tonight The Blue and White go to Vancouver to play.

I say Go Leafs Go. (I say 4 - 3 Leafs)