Sedin twins roast each other during Hall of Fame speeches

Nov 15 2022, 4:18 am

Henrik and Daniel Sedin did seemingly everything together during their NHL careers.

Their Hall of Fame speeches, however, were done separately.

The Vancouver Canucks legends and twin brothers were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight in Toronto, along with Roberto Luongo, Daniel Alfredsson, Riikka Sallinen, and Herb Carnegie.

The best jokes of the night came from the usually stoic Swedes, who used part of their induction speeches to roast each other.

“I want to thank whoever picked me to speak before Henrik, it reminds me of draft day,” Daniel said to begin his speech — a nod to the fact that he was drafted second overall in 1999, one spot ahead of Henrik.

Henrik, who missed Friday’s Hall-of-Fame festivities because he was recovering from a bout of COVID, was not to be outdone.

“As you might know, I’ve just recovered from COVID. It came down to a last-minute decision to attend, but as our coaches always said, Henrik at 70 per cent is a lot better than Daniel at a hundred.”

Then Henrik provided some statistical analysis to prove he was the better Sedin. It seems Daniel was holding Henrik back from being an elite goal-scorer.

“To end the debate [of] who the better player was, I missed 30 games in my career, and Daniel’s production was not the same. In 2010, Daniel missed 20 games with a concussion, I had 11 goals and nine assists. So with Daniel, I was barely a 20-goal scorer. Without him, I would have been a career 45-goal scorer.”

The Sedins had plenty of nice words to share during their speeches for their former teammates and coaches, as well as their family.

And yes, they did have some sincere words for each other.

“Apart from your on-ice greatness, the thing that made me get to where I am standing here tonight, is what you did off the ice,” Henrik said to Daniel. “To know that someone would be in the gym every morning, waiting for me, on the days I felt like taking a day off, that’s what made me the player I was. When people ask where the confidence came from, that’s where it came from. Our preparation.”

But perhaps the most heartwarming moment came when Daniel conceded that Henrik was not only the better hockey player, but the better person.

“Henrik, I will only say this once. You have always been a calming influence in my life, and made a difference not only in my career as a hockey player, but also as a person. In my mind, you were a better hockey player than me, a better person than me,” Daniel said.

“And I’m saying this sincerely, but also knowing that you will stand up here in about 10 minutes [for your speech]. Can’t wait to hear what he’s going to say about me.”

The last speech of the night belonged to Luongo, who took time to thank his longtime teammates.

“Hank and Danny, when I got the call [to the Hall of Fame], the first thing I asked is if you guys were in too because I wanted it so bad to go in with you guys,” said Luongo. “Just being your teammates for eight years, it was such an honour.

“I’m proud to say that I played with you guys because just watching you, not [just] on the ice, but also in the locker room as people. I hold you in such high regards. It’s tough to put into words because you guys had so much pressure on you every night as the face of the franchise. You guys never deviated from who you were. You were always positive.

“We looked up to you, not only myself, but I know everybody in the locker room looked up to you guys.”

The speeches

Prior to this year, just one player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame had built a resume primarily with the Canucks — Pavel Bure. The Sedins and Luongo have brought that number up to four.

Henrik and Daniel are the first two players to make the Hall of Fame after playing their entire careers with the Canucks. They’re the only players in franchise history to score more than 1,000 points.

Luongo, while he played more games with the Florida Panthers during his career, acknowledged that the best moments of his career came with the Canucks. He’s the franchise’s all-time wins leaders (252), and ranks first in save percentage (.919) and goals-against average (2.36) among Canucks goalies with at least 100 games played.

Daniel Sedin’s Hall-of-Fame speech

Henrik Sedin’s Hall-of-Fame speech

Roberto Luongo’s Hall-of-Fame speech

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