VANCOUVER—While Sidney Crosby’s five-point performance last Sunday made it close, the Vancouver Canucks’ Henrik Sedin still finished the 2009–2010 NHL campaign with a league best 112 points.
With 29 goals and 83 assists, Sedin will take home the Art Ross Trophy as the regular season points leader at June’s NHL Awards in Las Vegas but has he done enough to take the Hart Trophy as the player judged most valuable to his team?
Not as well-known as Crosby or as flashy as the Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin—Sid and Ovie finished in a two-way tie for second with 109 points—Sedin could be one of the most unheralded Art Ross Trophy winners ever.
An understated person, Henrik Sedin didn’t want to brag about his career season.
“My season’s been consistent I guess,” Sedin told The Epoch Times.
“There haven’t been many downs so that’s maybe the thing I’m most happy with.”
The list of previous trophy winners is filled with more recognizable NHLers such as Crosby, Ovechkin, Mario Lemieux, and Wayne Gretzky and while no one would compare the Canucks center with those players, with all due respect, Sedin has done yeoman’s work for Vancouver this season.
One-half of the Canucks Sedin twins, along with brother Daniel, Henrik has played playmaker to Dan being the goal scorer. The twins rank behind goalie Roberto Luongo in the Vancouver pecking order. Luongo is the team captain after all.
Stepping Up
But 2009–2010 hasn’t been an ordinary season for the Vancouver Canucks.
While Luongo had respectable numbers for the Canucks this season, his performance hasn’t been as good as in years past.
Captain Lou did manage a 40–22–4 record but also had a goals against average of 2.57, the lowest GAA of his time in Vancouver.
Brother Daniel, who is often on the receiving end of Henrik’s passes, went down with a broken foot back in October and while it could’ve been a chance for Henrik to slump, he actually flourished with his twin bro in the infirmary.
In the 18 games that Daniel missed, Hank, as he is also known, scored 10 goals and 8 assists for 18 points. Included in that period of time was Henrik’s first career hat trick.
Despite playing for an extended time without his favorite triggerman, Henrik says that he really didn’t change things up during his identical twin’s absence.
“I didn’t do much different,” Sedin said.
“I think it was more mental and it was confidence that helped me keep producing.”
Road Warrior
Another testament to how well Sedin has played this year was his performance during a 14-game Winter Olympic-induced road trip between late-January and mid-March.
Many analysts saw this as a “make or break” part of the Canucks schedule. The team finished the long trek with a very respectable record of 8–5–1 and Henrik Sedin performed well during the voyage with 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points.
Hank is a road warrior with 10 goals and 36 assists for 46 points in 41 road games this season.
While the Art Ross or Hart are nice for the trophy case, a hockey player really wants his name engraved in the Stanley Cup. Sedin is confident going into the playoffs and doesn’t plan on doing anything differently.
“It’s going to be the same,” said Sedin when queried on preparation for the team’s opening-round playoff series against the L.A. Kings.
“It’s not a big difference if you compare playoffs to regular season. It’s just the intensity’s up and that’s pretty much it.”
During a regular season campaign where the team captain and star goalie wasn’t having his best season and sniper Daniel Sedin missed 18 games due to injury, Henrik Sedin stepped up his play and emerged from beneath their shadows.
Henrik’s durability is also worth noting. The Swedish center hasn’t missed a regular season game in five years. In his nine-year career with the Canucks, he has only missed 10 games.
Subsequently, the Canucks captured another Northwest Division title and are third in the Western Conference with a record of 49–28–5.
That’s Hart material if you ask me.
With 29 goals and 83 assists, Sedin will take home the Art Ross Trophy as the regular season points leader at June’s NHL Awards in Las Vegas but has he done enough to take the Hart Trophy as the player judged most valuable to his team?
Not as well-known as Crosby or as flashy as the Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin—Sid and Ovie finished in a two-way tie for second with 109 points—Sedin could be one of the most unheralded Art Ross Trophy winners ever.
An understated person, Henrik Sedin didn’t want to brag about his career season.
“My season’s been consistent I guess,” Sedin told The Epoch Times.
“There haven’t been many downs so that’s maybe the thing I’m most happy with.”
The list of previous trophy winners is filled with more recognizable NHLers such as Crosby, Ovechkin, Mario Lemieux, and Wayne Gretzky and while no one would compare the Canucks center with those players, with all due respect, Sedin has done yeoman’s work for Vancouver this season.
One-half of the Canucks Sedin twins, along with brother Daniel, Henrik has played playmaker to Dan being the goal scorer. The twins rank behind goalie Roberto Luongo in the Vancouver pecking order. Luongo is the team captain after all.
Stepping Up
But 2009–2010 hasn’t been an ordinary season for the Vancouver Canucks.
While Luongo had respectable numbers for the Canucks this season, his performance hasn’t been as good as in years past.
Captain Lou did manage a 40–22–4 record but also had a goals against average of 2.57, the lowest GAA of his time in Vancouver.
Brother Daniel, who is often on the receiving end of Henrik’s passes, went down with a broken foot back in October and while it could’ve been a chance for Henrik to slump, he actually flourished with his twin bro in the infirmary.
In the 18 games that Daniel missed, Hank, as he is also known, scored 10 goals and 8 assists for 18 points. Included in that period of time was Henrik’s first career hat trick.
Despite playing for an extended time without his favorite triggerman, Henrik says that he really didn’t change things up during his identical twin’s absence.
“I didn’t do much different,” Sedin said.
“I think it was more mental and it was confidence that helped me keep producing.”
Road Warrior
Another testament to how well Sedin has played this year was his performance during a 14-game Winter Olympic-induced road trip between late-January and mid-March.
Many analysts saw this as a “make or break” part of the Canucks schedule. The team finished the long trek with a very respectable record of 8–5–1 and Henrik Sedin performed well during the voyage with 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points.
Hank is a road warrior with 10 goals and 36 assists for 46 points in 41 road games this season.
While the Art Ross or Hart are nice for the trophy case, a hockey player really wants his name engraved in the Stanley Cup. Sedin is confident going into the playoffs and doesn’t plan on doing anything differently.
“It’s going to be the same,” said Sedin when queried on preparation for the team’s opening-round playoff series against the L.A. Kings.
“It’s not a big difference if you compare playoffs to regular season. It’s just the intensity’s up and that’s pretty much it.”
During a regular season campaign where the team captain and star goalie wasn’t having his best season and sniper Daniel Sedin missed 18 games due to injury, Henrik Sedin stepped up his play and emerged from beneath their shadows.
Henrik’s durability is also worth noting. The Swedish center hasn’t missed a regular season game in five years. In his nine-year career with the Canucks, he has only missed 10 games.
Subsequently, the Canucks captured another Northwest Division title and are third in the Western Conference with a record of 49–28–5.
That’s Hart material if you ask me.
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