Canucks Army Year in Review: Daniel Sedin

Daniel Sedin had something of a renaissance year in 2015-16, which is odd because he also had something of a renaissance year in the previous season. After the disaster that was 2013-14, Daniel and his brother proved that they were still first line players in 2014-15 by putting up 70+ points in the regular season.

The knock on him was the he appeared to be becoming a second version of Henrik – not only did they look exactly alike, but their play was overlapping more than ever. Long the shooter of the pair, Daniel put up the highest assist:goal ratio in his career in 2014-15, prompting many to assume that his goal scoring days were over. However, goals in four straight games to end the season hinted that that might not be the case.

This season, Daniel showed that he could still fill the back of the net, potting 28 goals in 82 games – his highest total since 2011-12. He spent much of the season on pace for many more, and a return to 30 goals seemed like a lock. However, underlying injuries and a team collapse took the wind out of those sails.

Daniel Sedin had a couple of fantastic moments this season. He had a hat-trick against the Blackhawks, once the Canucks’ chief rival. He broke the all-time franchise record for goals. But no other goal came with as much feeling and generated more attention and controversy that this one:

This goal was huge for a myriad of reasons. It represents not only the high point of Daniel’s season, but the high point of the entire team’s season. It broke Florida’s franchise-high 13 game winning streak in dramatic fashion, and it sent crotchety former NHL star Denis Potvin into a peanut butter smothered rage.

Potvin eventually apologized for the comment, and while the Sedins have been about as far as possible from “lowlifes” in their careers, there was something oddly fitting about the whole ordeal. This was the Sedins as we had never seen them – they had become shit disturbers.

There were a variety of potential explanations for why two players that had been as docile as humanly possible for a decade and a half would suddenly transform into pests, but it seems likely that it was in the vein of leadership. With Kesler and Bieksa gone, Burrows pushed into the background, Brandon Prust unable to play hockey, Derek Dorsett unable to pay attention, and with a team full of youngsters, the Sedins took it upon themselves to show the young blood how to stick up for their teammates.

So they pushed and shoved, they were active in scrums, they played through broken fingers and broken faces, they chipped, they chirped, and they loved every minute of it, sometimes openly laughing at opponents with crazed looks in their eyes. All this while finishing one-two on the team in scoring for the eighth consecutive season.

Daniel, like his brother, has been an extraordinarily strong possession player throughout his career. For as long as Corsi has been recorded, it’s been rare to see the Sedins under 55 per cent over the course of a season.

In 2015-16, both twins had their worst possession years ever, with Daniel coming in at an abysmal 49.34 per cent in Corsi-for percentage. Most other possession measuring metrics didn’t paint a prettier, with his Fenwick, Shot, Scoring Chance and High Danger Scoring Chance ratio hovering between 48 and 50 per cent.

His Goals-for percentage on the other hand was a highly impressive 58.97 per cent, which looks downright incredible when you consider that the Canucks had a Goals-for percentage of 38.9 when Daniel wasn’t on the ice. Just another reminder of how the twins dragged a terrible team kicking and screaming through much of the season.

I often thought that there might be a connection between the amount that Daniel was shooting the puck and the amount of goals that he scored. Of course that seems like common sense, but I don’t just mean in a linear fashion. For the better part of the last decade, when Daniel shoots more often, not only does he score more, but he scores on a higher percentage of shots.

Since 2008, his shots on net per 60 minutes have had a very strong positive correlation with his shooting percentage.

The first three years following the Keith-induced concussion, Daniel was taking shots at a rate lower than any season since before the 2005 lockout. It was corresponding with shooting percentages that were three of the four worst of his career.

This season, he bounced back in a big way, taking 258 shots on net, the third highest total in his career. His shooting percentage rebounded to back over 10 per cent for the first time since 2011-12. Naturally, the goals poured in.

Daniel spent most of the season with a 5-on-5 points per 60 above 2.00, which is generally a solid benchmark for a first line player. It took a tumble near the end of the season as the twins struggled to produce down the stretch, falling well below 2.00 to finish the year.

His goals per 60 of 0.87 on the other hand is considerably more impressive. It was his highest G60 since he posted a 0.88 rate in 2011-12, and could have been much better if it weren’t for that late season swoon. As recently as February, it was up over 1.00, close to where it was in his 41-goal season in 2010-11.

Did you know that Daniel Sedin threw 20 hits this season? What a thug. His 19 blocked shots were the second best of his career. Bet you can guess which year he had his highest blocked shots total. (Hint: it’s the Torts year.)

I like to write about the Sedins a lot, so this is really mostly things that I pondered.

Daniel Sedin had a pretty incredible year, all things considered. As a 35-year old on a floundering team, surrounded by kids, years removed from a head injury, and with not much of a light at the end of the tunnel, Daniel and his brother laid down the law and set the tone, all while scoring goals like the Daniel Sedin of old.

The Sedins showed this year that they still aren’t done yet, though they have looked less resilient to injuries than they were in the past. They also showed that at 35, nearing the twilight of their careers, they still have surprises in store for us.

I for one am very intrigued but what the twins will bring to the table next season.