Extensions for Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin good for players and Vancouver Canucks

Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin signed identical four-year contract extensions with the Vancouver Canucks today. The deals will keep the Sedin Twins in Vancouver through the 2017-18 season with a cap hit of $7 million per year. The Twins were coming off of five-year deals worth $6.1 million per season, so it seems that these extensions work out for both the player and team.

New coach John Tortorella heaped praise on Daniel and Henrik after the the new deals were announced. As per NHL.com:

"What bothers me the most about the reputation of these two guys — and I am not sure who started it, but our League is so Neanderthal in their thinking that it sticks — is when they call the Sedins soft. I’ve been dying to talk about that. These aren’t soft people. These aren’t soft players. It [angers me that] the reputation that is still out there, and it is so undeserving and it is so disrespectful."

Tortorella’s one of the straightest shooters in the NHL, and he made it clear that he’d be cutting the Sedins no slack when he arrived in Vancouver. It didn’t take the twins long to impress their new coach, or vice versa.

For the Canucks to be able to retain their top two players on such a modest raise is outstanding. Henrik and Daniel are No. 1 and 2 in all-time scoring for Vancouver, and represent the best chance for the team to get over the hump when it comes to winning a Stanley Cup.

The process went by with seemingly no drama, no distraction and no threat of a hold out which is more than a lot of teams around the NHL can say when it comes down to hanging onto elite talent. Players like these two almost never hit the open market, and when they do they see their value inflated almost immediately.

This is a great cap hit for the team, while both of the Sedins rake in a solid raise for their high level of play as well.