A definitive list of Sedin Canucks linemates ranked from worst to best
With 1,478 combined assists during their Hall of Fame-worthy careers, the most highly desired spot to play on the Vancouver Canucks for nearly two decades as on the right wing, next to Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
Before Alex Burrows became a fixture on their line, a number of players cycled through with varying levels of success. A total of 36 forwards have ever scored a goal assisted by both Henrik and Daniel (Pass it to Bulis put together a quiz that every Canucks fan should play), with Burrows accounting for the most (50).
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As the Sedins get ready to have their jersey numbers raised to the rafters at Rogers Arena, let’s take a look back at their best (and worst) linemates.
For this exercise we’ll define a “linemate” as any player who played a significant amount of time on their wing in any given season, as well as players that were specifically brought in to play with them.
15. Magnus Arvedson
Magnus Arvedson took less money to sign with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent in 2003 — fresh off a 16-goal campaign with the Ottawa Senators.
A fellow Swede, the assumption was that GM Brian Burke signed him to play on the Sedin line, though his spot was quickly taken by unheralded rookie Jason King.
14. Loui Eriksson
Given their success together with Team Sweden at the World Championships, there was every reason for GM Jim Benning to believe Loui Eriksson would fit in well with the Sedins when he signed him in 2016 — at least at first.
He didn’t.
The trio never looked like they had chemistry in over 500 even-strength minutes played together from 2016 to 2018.
13. Steve Bernier
Steve Bernier was a gritty 23-year-old winger that showed goal-scoring potential in his young career when new Canucks GM Mike Gillis gave up a second-round pick to get him from Buffalo.
He started with the Sedins and got a boatload of chances, but he lacked a scoring touch. Head coach Alain Vigneault began searching for other options midway through the season, eventually settling on Burrows.
12. Sam Gagner
Sam Gagner holds the distinction of being the Sedins’ last linemate.
The trio played over 140 minutes together, with Gagner scoring four of his 10 goals in 2017-18 assisted by both Henrik and Daniel.
11. Markus Granlund
How good were the Sedins as hockey players? Well, they nearly made Markus Granlund a 20-goal scorer.
Granlund scored 19 goals in 69 games in 2016-17, with much of his success coming with the twins. Season-ending wrist surgery in late March put an end to Granlund’s 20-goal dream.
10. Jason King
The Mattress Line, with two twins and a King, formed a highly successful line for a short period of time in 2003-04. King scored 12 goals that season, in just 47 games.
9. Trent Klatt
Klatt was picked to play with the Sedins during their first training camp in 2000, and stuck with them for most of the Sedins’ first three seasons.
The Sedins had yet to become star players in those days, but they did set up Klatt for his most memorable goal as a Canucks — the overtime winner during Game 1 of their playoff series against Minnesota in 2003.
8. Taylor Pyatt
Taylor Pyatt scored 23 goals in his first season with the Canucks in 2006-07 — his first in Vancouver. That was also the first year of the Sedins being the team’s first line.
7. Ryan Kesler
John Tortorella’s lone season behind the Canucks’ bench in 2013-14 was a tumultuous one, but it was successful until January. Torts often moved Ryan Kesler to the wing with the Sedins, and the trio was dangerous together.
6. Jannik Hansen
Jannik Hansen had a front row seat to Burrows’ success with the twins, so it should be no wonder that he fit in so well with them later in his career.
Hansen scored a career-high 22 goals, in just 67 games, for the Canucks in 2015-16. Much of that success was on Henrik and Daniel’s line.
5. Mikael Samuelsson
During the Canucks’ glory years, Mikael Samuelsson was often a secondary option to play with the Sedins when things weren’t clicking with Burrows. The veteran Swede would also see time with the twins immediately following penalty kills, to give Burrows a breather.
He scored 30 goals with the Canucks in 2009-10, and added another 18 the season after.
4. Markus Naslund
Playing his off-wing, Markus Naslund was the Sedins’ most common linemate in 2007-08. Naslund scored 25 goals that year, his last as a Canuck.
3. Radim Vrbata
One of Benning’s first free agent signings as Canucks GM, Radim Vrbata did everything the team could have hoped in his first season. A staple on the Sedin line, Vrbata scored 31 goals, played in the NHL All-Star Game, and was named Canucks MVP in 2014-15.
His second season in Vancouver didn’t go so well.
2. Anson Carter
Anson Carter only played one season (2005-06) with the Canucks, but what a season it was.
Showing instant chemistry on what was considered the second line with Henrik and Daniel, a remarkable 21 of his 33 goals scored that year were assisted by both Sedins.
Who knows how many goals Carter could have scored with the twins, as he opted to leave as a free agent after the season.
1. Alex Burrows
There’s no surprise who ended up first on this list.
Somehow, some way, an undrafted fourth-line checker turned into the perfect compliment to the Sedins. Burrows blossomed into a perennial 20-goal scorer with the twins, including a career-high 35-goal year in 2009-10.
