Vancouver Canucks: Henrik and Daniel Sedin
Sure it may be unorthodox to have two players on a cover, but EA found a workaround with Toews and Kane. And unlike Kane, the Sedins haven’t had any run-ins with law enforcement.
The Sedins are practically inseparable, and have been that way ever since they were both drafted by the Vancouver Canucks. They complement each other perfectly, with Henrik being the playmaker and Daniel being the goalscorer. However, they have both won Art Ross trophies, and they happened to come a year apart.
But at this point, the Canucks are a dumpster fire, and that’s putting it lightly, and there aren’t many players who are doing well. If you were to choose anyone from Vancouver for the NHL 18 cover, it should be a Sedin, because of everything they’ve done, and continue to do, for the team. And if you’re going to choose one, you have to include the other.
Vancouver hasn’t recovered since losing in the 2011 Cup Final while the city burned to the ground. They finished in first the following two years, but won a total of one playoff game. Then came the hiring of John Tortorella which… well, nuff said.
Mike Gillis also crippled the team with mind-numbingly bad trades, like disbanding the best goalie tandem in the NHL. They have some good rookies, but they either don’t pan out (like Jake Virtanen), or get traded (like Hunter Shinkaruk).
It’s amazing how the Sedins have been able to put up with all of this, but they are the one thing that remains constant in Vancouver. You can always count on them to put up great numbers, and no matter how bad things get, they remain one of the toughest pairs to defend against.
History will remember the Sedins as one of the best one-two punch combinations ever in the NHL, no matter how much the rest of the Canucks try to drag them down.