Henrik Lars Sedin (seh-DEEN; born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former centre who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. He additionally served as the Canucks' captain from 2010 until his retirement. He and identical twin brother Daniel both currently serve as President of Hockey Operations for the Canucks. Born and raised in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, the brothers played together throughout their careers; the pair were renowned for their effectiveness as a tandem. Henrik, a skilled passer, was known as a playmaker (150+ more career NHL assists than Daniel) while Daniel was known as a goal-scorer (150+ more career NHL goals than Henrik). Sedin tallied 240 goals and 830 assists, for 1,070 points, in 1,330 NHL games, ranking him as the Canucks' all-time leading points scorer.
Sedin began his career in the Swedish Hockey League with Modo Hockey in 1997 and was co-recipient, with brother Daniel, of the 1999 Guldpucken as Swedish player of the year. Selected third overall—one pick after brother Daniel—by the Canucks in the 1999 NHL entry draft, Sedin spent his entire NHL career in Vancouver. After four seasons with the club, he became the Canucks' top-scoring centre in 2005–06. He has since won three Cyrus H. McLean Trophies as the team's leading point-scorer (from 2007–08 to 2009–10) and one Cyclone Taylor Award as the team's most valuable player (2010). In 2009–10, he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as well as the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and leading point-scorer, respectively. He was also named to the NHL first All-Star team that year and again in 2010–11, a season that included an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, where Vancouver lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. That summer, Henrik and Daniel were named co-recipients of the Victoria Scholarship as Swedish athletes of the year. Alongside his brother, Henrik was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022.
Internationally, Sedin has competed on Sweden's national ice hockey team. He is a two-time Olympian and helped Sweden to a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. In five appearances at the IIHF World Championships, he has won bronze medals in 1999 and 2001 and clinched the world title in 2013. At the junior level, he appeared in one World U17 Hockey Challenge (where he won silver), two European Junior and three World Junior Championships.
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Early life
Henrik was born on 26 September 1980 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, six minutes before his identical twin brother, Daniel. The pair have two older brothers, Stefan and Peter. Their father, Tommy, is a school vice principal who played for Modo Hockey in the 1960s; their mother, Tora, is a nurse. Henrik began playing organized hockey with Daniel when they were eight. They did not regularly play on the same line until Daniel switched from centre to wing at the age of 14. Henrik and Daniel attended high school at Nolaskolan Gymnasium in their hometown in Sweden while playing professionally for Modo Hockey.
Playing career
Modo Hockey (1997–2000)
Aged 16, Henrik and Daniel Sedin began their professional careers in 1997–98 with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League. Henrik recorded a goal and five points over 39 games during his rookie season. In his second year with Modo, he improved to 12 goals and 34 points, joint second in team scoring with Samuel Påhlsson, behind Daniel. At the end of the season, Henrik and Daniel were named co-recipients of the Guldpucken, the Swedish player of the year award.
The Sedins were considered top prospects for the 1999 NHL entry draft. Rated as the top European prospects, they were expected to be top five selections and expressed a desire to play for the same team. Their agent, Mike Barnett, president of international talent agency IMG, presented them with two options to circumvent the usual NHL draft process, allowing them to play together. The first option was for the pair to enter the 1999 draft and not sign with their respective NHL clubs for two years, allowing them to become unrestricted free agents. This option required that they play junior ice hockey in North America, which was not their intention. Barnett also suggested that either Henrik or Daniel opt out of the 1999 draft, in the hope that the same team that selected the first twin would select the other the following year. On the possibility of the Sedins' playing for separate teams, Vancouver Canucks scout Thomas Gradin commented, "They're good enough to play with anyone, but separately their capacity might decrease by 10 or 15 percent." Nevertheless, Henrik and Daniel both entered the 1999 draft expecting to be selected by separate teams. However, then-Canucks general manager Brian Burke already possessed the third overall pick and through a series of transactions he obtained the second overall pick. He used these second and third overall picks to select Daniel and Henrik, respectively. Gradin notified them of the Canucks' intentions five minutes before the draft. Although then-Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Rick Dudley was ready to make Daniel his first overall choice before opening negotiations, he was convinced by Burke and Barnett that Daniel would not sign unless his brother was on the same team.
On 27 July 1999, a month following the draft, Henrik and Daniel signed three-year contracts with the Canucks. As the contract did not require them to begin playing in Vancouver immediately, they announced on 12 August they would return to Sweden to play one more season with Modo. During the 1999–2000 season, Henrik led Modo in scoring with 47 points in 50 games, two points ahead of Daniel. The two brothers played on a line with New York Islanders prospect Mattias Weinhandl.
Vancouver Canucks (2000–2018)
The 2000–01 NHL season was Henrik's first for the Canucks. His debut was the team's first game of the campaign on 5 October 2000, a 6–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. With the game, Henrik and Daniel became the fourth pair of twins to have played in the NHL. Three days later, Henrik assisted on Daniel's first career NHL goal in a 5–4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The goal tied the game at 4 with 1:26 left in regulation. In a 5–2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 16 October 2000, Henrik scored his first NHL goal and added an assist on Daniel's second career goal. Henrik tallied 29 points over the course of the campaign—second among team rookies to Daniel's 34 points. He and Daniel played primarily on the Canucks' third line.
Henrik improved to 36 points in his second NHL season; he finished with five goals in his last six games, taking his season total to 16. In the opening game of the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, Henrik scored the overtime winner against the first-seeded Detroit Red Wings to put the Canucks 1–0 ahead in the series; it was his first NHL playoff goal. Detroit went on to eliminate the Canucks in six games en route to winning the Stanley Cup. During the 2002–03 season, Henrik suffered a sprained left shoulder that forced him out of three games. He had sustained the injury during a game against the Edmonton Oilers on 14 December 2002. Henrik also missed a game on 23 February 2003 because of a hand injury. He played 78 games during 2002–03 and finished the campaign with 39 points.
After their third NHL season, Henrik and Daniel were re-signed to one-year, US$1.125 million contracts on 29 July 2003. The Sedins began the 2003–04 season on a line with first-year player Jason King. The trio were named the "Mattress Line" (two twins and a King) and formed the Canucks' second scoring unit until King was reassigned to the team's minor league affiliate midway through the season. On 7 November 2003, St. Louis Blues forward Doug Weight was suspended four games without pay for a cross-check he delivered to Henrik during a game the previous day; Henrik was not injured. On 17 December 2003, Henrik was a healthy scratch for the first and only time in his NHL career. He was also sidelined for five games in March 2004 due to sore ribs. Over 76 games, Henrik increased his points total over the previous season to 42. During the off-season, Henrik and Daniel were re-signed to one-year, US$1.25 million contracts on 10 September 2004.
During the 2004–05 lockout, Henrik returned to Sweden to play for Modo with Daniel and their Canucks teammate Markus Näslund. During a game against Mora IK on 20 November 2004, Henrik received a slash that required a minor amputation to his left little finger. He finished the season with 36 points in 44 games, third in team scoring behind Peter Forsberg and Mattias Weinhandl.
Post-playing career
On 12 February 2020, Henrik's number 33 would be raised to the rafters alongside his brother Daniel's number 22 in an hour-long jersey retirement ceremony, the culmination of a week-long celebration of the twins' career.
On 22 June 2021, it was announced that Henrik and Daniel would join the Canucks Hockey Operations department and were named special advisors to the general manager.
On 30 May 2022, the Canucks announced that the Sedins had transitioned into new roles with player development, working daily on and off the ice with young players in Vancouver and Abbotsford.
On 28 June 2022, it was announced that Henrik would join his brother Daniel in being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later that year, together becoming the first career Canucks to make it to the hall.
On 14 May 2026, the Canucks announced that Henrik and Daniel would be named Co-Presidents of the Canucks.
International play
Henrik played for the first time in North America with Sweden's national under-17 team at the 1997 World U17 Hockey Challenge, held in Alberta. Recording 20 points (12 goals and eight assists) over six games, he helped Sweden to a silver medal. After going undefeated in five contests, they were defeated in the gold medal game by Team Ontario, 6–2.
Henrik competed for Sweden at the 1997 European Junior Championships, recording three goals and seven points over six games. He joined Sweden for the 1998 European Junior Championships, the final game of which required Sweden to beat Russia by four goals to surpass Finland in goal differential and win the gold medal. Henrik recorded a goal and an assist against Russia as Sweden won 5–1.
In his NHL draft year, Henrik competed for Sweden at the 1999 World Junior Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He recorded nine points in six games, fifth in tournament scoring and second in team scoring to brother Daniel, as Sweden failed to win a medal. Later that year, Henrik made his international debut for the Swedish men's team at the 1999 World Championships in Norway. He scored no points in eight games as Sweden won the bronze medal.
In 2000, Henrik once again competed in both the World Junior and Senior Championships. At the junior tournament in Sweden, Henrik led the tournament with 13 points in seven games, but Sweden did not earn a medal. At the World Championships, Henrik recorded five points as Sweden again failed to medal.
Following his rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks, Henrik made his third World Championships appearance, in 2001 in Germany. He earned his second bronze medal in three years as Sweden defeated the United States 3–2 in the bronze medal game. He made a fourth tournament appearance at the 2005 World Championships in Austria. Sweden missed out on the bronze medal, losing to Russia 6–3. Henrik had a goal and an assist in a losing effort during the bronze medal game. He finished the tournament with two goals and six points in nine games.
On 22 December 2005, Henrik was named to the Swedish Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He joined Daniel, Markus Näslund and Mattias Öhlund as one of four Canucks on the squad. Competing in his first Olympics, he contributed four points as Sweden won a gold medal, defeating Finland 3–2 in the final. Four years later, Henrik was once again named to the Swedish Olympic team for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Unlike the previous Olympics, Henrik went into the 2010 tournament as one of Sweden's key players: at the time of the roster announcement on 27 December 2009, he led all Swedish players in NHL scoring. Sweden failed to defend their gold medal from Turin, however, losing to Slovakia in the tournament quarterfinal. Henrik had two assists in four games.
Playing style
Throughout his career, Henrik recorded markedly more assists than goals. Known as a playmaker, he started play sequences that led to goals with passes to his teammates. Many of the plays he generated were created off the cycle. Henrik's familiarity with Daniel's play enhanced his effectiveness; the pair were known for their ability to find each other intuitively with passes, often without looking.
Beginning around the 2008–09 season, Henrik began to expand his skill-set by scoring more goals. His increased tendency to shoot was given an extra push when Daniel suffered the first major injury of his career early in the 2009–10 season, forcing Henrik to play without his brother for several weeks and consequently pass less often. He recorded the first two 20-goal seasons of his career in both 2008–09 and 2009–10, and increased his shot totals.
With his offensive skill the prime component of his game, Henrik was known to avoid initiating contact with opposing players. Early in their careers, he and Daniel were knocked off the puck easily. As a result, players often took advantage of the brothers' lack of physicality by playing aggressively against them. Canucks then-general manager Brian Burke publicly complained, commenting during a 2002 playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings, "'Sedin' is not Swedish for 'punch me or headlock me in a scrum'." As their careers progressed, the Sedins worked on their strength, improving their puck possession and allowing them to play more effectively.
Personal life
Henrik is married to Johanna Sedin; they have two sons: Valter, who was born in 2007 in Vancouver, and Harry, who was born on 12 May 2010. They live together in the city's Yaletown neighbourhood, and return to Sweden during the off-season. In March 2010, Henrik and Johanna made a joint $1.5 million donation, with Daniel and his wife Marinette, to the BC Children's Hospital's $200 million project for a new building; the two families requested that it be put towards a pediatric intensive-care unit and a diagnostic imaging area. Henrik commented that it was something he and his wife had wanted to do since Valter was born.
Sedin's eldest son Valter plays professional soccer.
Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin are racehorse owners involved in harness racing. Their most successful trotter is Nahar, winner of the 2013 Elitloppet.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Bold indicates led league
Records
Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for all-time assists – 830 assists (surpassed Trevor Linden's 415 assists on 14 March 2010)
Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for assists in one season – 83 (2009–10) (surpassed his own 71 assists in 2006–07)
Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for points in one season – 112 (2009–10) (surpassed Pavel Bure's 110 points in 1992–93)
Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for most consecutive regular season games played – 679 (streak ended by bruised rib injury 18 January 2014; sixth-longest streak in NHL history as of that date)
Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for all-time leading scorer – 1070 points (set 15 February 2013; surpassed Markus Näslund's 756 points).