Daniel and Henrik Sedin have announced they are retiring from the Vancouver Canucks.
In a letter posted online, the brothers said throughout this season they realized this one would be the last.
Daniel and Henrik have been with the Canucks for 18 seasons but say now is the time to focus on life after hockey.
“It’s time to help with homework every night. It’s time to be at every birthday party and to stand in the cold at every hockey rink, soccer game and riding lesson on weekends. It’s time to be at home for dinner every night.”
The pair say they plan to stay part of the community after their retirement.
They added that they believe the team is in great hands and it is headed in the right direction. “We know there is a bright future for the Canucks,” reads the letter.
There are three games left in the 2017-18 season.
LISTEN: Former Canucks GM Brian Burke reflects on Sedins’ retirement
Former Vancouver Canucks General Manager Brian Burke, who masterminded the complex series of trades that allowed the team to draft both twins second and third overall in 1999, told CKNW’s The Simi Sara Show the pair had been a benefit both the Vancouver and the NHL.
“Everyone in hockey knows how important they’ve been to the Vancouver Canucks. Think the fans in Vancouver certainly have appreciated them. It took ’em a while, I would say,” he said.
“I think it took them a while to be respected, you know, they’ve just done a marvelous job there. It’s a shame they weren’t able to pull a cup off that one year when they got to game seven.”
WATCH: Inside the deal that brought both Sedins to the Vancouver Canucks
Veteran play-by-play broadcaster Jim Robson said the twins’ retirement will be a loss for Vancouver, and that he wishes he’d had the chance to work with them.
“But I did see them play a lot of games, and I can’t really pick up a single occasion or game because there were so many highlights.”
WATCH: Canucks players and staff react to the announcement by Henrik and Daniel Sedin that they will be retiring at the end of this NHL season.
Legacy players
The Sedins are leaving an impressive legacy with the Canucks.
Henrik is the highest-scoring player in the team’s history with Daniel being the second-highest.
Daniel is the Canucks’ all-time leader in goals, game-winning goals and shots, while Henrik is the club leader in assists, games and power play points. Henrik also ranks seventh in goals, third in game-winning goals, ninth in power play goals and shorthanded goals, sixth in shots and first in faceoffs.
Henrik also holds a team record of 679 consecutive games played.
WATCH: Calgary Flames react to retirement of Daniel and Henrik Sedin
But they leave more behind than just impressive statistics. The kindness and generosity of the Sedins is what stands out to B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation President Teri Nicholas.
She says the Sedins helped build the hospital, donating $1.5-million for the Teck Acute Care Centre.
“They are so humble that they wanted to be anonymous and we convinced them that it would… help us with fundraising, and that it would inspire others if they let us use their name,” she said.
“So they allowed that to happen, and as a result, people would send cheques.”
Nicholas says the Sedins also frequented the hospital to visit sick children.
“The kids who are in the hospital at a time that’s often difficult for them, just makes their day so much brighter and they kind of forget they’re in a hospital when the Sedins and the team come to visit them.”
Here is the full letter:
Dear Canucks fans,
Earlier this year we wrote a letter to the city, and to everyone who has supported us for the past 18 years. Many people were asking what the future holds. We said we’d take it one year at a time. We said when the time was right, we’d talk with our families and sit down with management to discuss it.
Ticket prices skyrocketing since the Sedins announce retirement
The Vancouver Canucks have two games left to play at home.
Initially, tickets were being sold for around $88 on average.
However, Vivid Seats says they have seen ticket prices shoot up since the announcement of the Sedins retiring.
The median price for tickets against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, April 5, is now around $364 for a ticket.
The game against the Coyotes is the final home game for the Canucks this season.
WATCH: Daniel and Henrik Sedin have announced they are retiring from the Vancouver Canucks.
With files from Michelle Morton
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