Close X
Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADVT 
Sports

Canucks Captain Henrik Sedin: Club Needs 'To Get Younger Before We Get Better'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Apr, 2016 11:57 AM
    VANCOUVER — This disappointment feels different to Henrik Sedin.
     
    As the Vancouver Canucks met the media on Monday to reflect on a second spring in three years without playoff hockey, their captain tried to point to the positives of what was a frustrating campaign.
     
    Sedin, who along with twin brother Daniel will be 36 when the puck drops next season, made it clear he remains committed to club's plan to rebuild by infusing youth into the lineup.
     
    "We all realize we need to get younger before we get better," said Henrik Sedin. "The difference this year from maybe two years ago is now we're on the way up again. Two years ago ... I thought as a team we were on the way down. Now we've got pieces."
     
    Those pieces include rookie forwards Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann, first-year defenceman Ben Hutton and second-year centre Bo Horvat. They saw significant ice time, especially when injuries started to decimate the lineup.
     
    But Sedin also cautioned that those young players need veteran support, and that making the playoffs should remain the goal moving forward.
     
    "It's dangerous to just keep going year after year and thinking about getting a high draft pick," he said. "We've seen other teams not being successful doing that. We have pieces, but now we have to surround them with good players."
     
    Brandon Sutter, Dan Hamhuis, Alexander Edler and Luca Sbisa — just to name a few — all went down with injuries for a team that wound up finishing 28th in the overall standings with a record of 31-38-13.
     
     
    "We knew it was going to be tough before the season started," said Daniel Sedin. "With the injuries it got even tougher, but we saw improvement in the young guys.
     
    "It was exciting to watch."
     
    Like his captain, Sutter said the season wasn't a total loss for the franchise.
     
    "We're a team that has a good core of players that have been around a while that can play ... we're still in a good spot," said Sutter, who played just 20 games in his first season with the club thanks to a sports hernia and a broken jaw. "It was a tough year, you can't really hide that. A year that nobody planned for, nobody wanted, but there were some positives to take out of it."
     
    With just 75 points — 26 fewer than 2015-16 — the Canucks had their worst season since 1998-99 when they earned just 58 points.
     
    "We had a pretty good season last year," said No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller, who will turn 36 in July and is entering the final year of his contract. "We were hoping to carry it forward this year. It was a pretty big shock for us to not be as competitive as we had hoped."
     
    Meanwhile, Henrik Sedin said that head coach Willie Desjardins was "absolutely" the right person to lead the club next season. Both Desjardins and general manager Jim Benning will address the media on Tuesday.
     
    "There's never been a question about that from this team," said Sedin. "He's really good to work with."
     
    The Canucks enter the off-season with a number of questions marks, including the futures of Hamhuis and Alexandre Burrows.
     
    Hamhuis, 33, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, while Burrows, who turned 35 on Monday, is a candidate to have the final year of his contract bought out.
     
     
    "I'd love to be back. Love this city, love this team," said Burrows. "They want to establish a younger core, but I still feel like I can be an asset and help these guys out."
     
    Sedin reiterated numerous times on Monday he believes in management's plan, adding the improvement he saw this year — despite the tumble down the standings — gives him hope.
     
    "It's hard to lose, no question about that," he said. "I'm totally confident we're going to be in a better spot next year. Before we're done I'm confident we're going to have another run at it. That's the way we look at it."
     
    Note: The Canucks have five players heading to the world hockey championships in Russia. Hutton and fellow defenceman Christopher Tanev will suit up for Canada, while goalie Jacob Markstrom (Sweden), defenceman Yannick Weber (Switzerland) and forward Jannik Hansen (Denmark) have committed to play for their countries.

    MORE Sports ARTICLES

    B.C. Lions Agree To Extension With Veteran Defensive Back Ryan Phillips

    B.C. Lions Agree To Extension With Veteran Defensive Back Ryan Phillips
    The B.C. Lions have agreed on a contract extension with defensive back Ryan Phillips through the 2017 season. Philips, an 11-year veteran, was scheduled to enter the final year of his previous contract this season.

    B.C. Lions Agree To Extension With Veteran Defensive Back Ryan Phillips

    Kieran Crowley Surprises Rugby Canada By Quitting As National Coach After Agreeing To Stay On

    Rugby Canada announced on Wednesday that Crowley's resignation was effective immediately

    Kieran Crowley Surprises Rugby Canada By Quitting As National Coach After Agreeing To Stay On

    Horvat Scores Twice As Canucks Beat Hurricanes In Lack's Return To Vancouver

    Horvat Scores Twice As Canucks Beat Hurricanes In Lack's Return To Vancouver
    The second-year centre scored twice, including the winner with 66 seconds left in the third period, as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Wednesday night.

    Horvat Scores Twice As Canucks Beat Hurricanes In Lack's Return To Vancouver

    Former Canucks Goalie Eddie Lack Says Trade To Carolina Was Just Business

    Lack is expected to start Wednesday night when the Hurricanes play the Canucks. It will be his first game back in Vancouver since being traded to Carolina last June for a third-round draft pick in 2015 and a seventh-round pick in 2016.

    Former Canucks Goalie Eddie Lack Says Trade To Carolina Was Just Business

    Shane Doan scores twice to lift Coyotes over division rival Canucks 3-2

    Shane Doan scores twice to lift Coyotes over division rival Canucks 3-2
    The 39-year-old Coyotes captain scored twice on Monday night as Arizona defeated the division rival Vancouver Canucks 3-2.

    Shane Doan scores twice to lift Coyotes over division rival Canucks 3-2

    Vancouver Canucks Recall Forward Alexandre Grenier Form Utica

    Vancouver Canucks Recall Forward Alexandre Grenier Form Utica
    The 24-year-old Grenier has appeared in 33 games with Utica this season, ranking second on the team in scoring with 19 points (six goal, 13 assists).

    Vancouver Canucks Recall Forward Alexandre Grenier Form Utica