Team

Betting

CanucksArmy has no direct affiliation to the Vancouver Canucks, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA

Sedins show united front and appeal for patience while assessing Canucks’ disappointing start to season

Vancouver Canucks Henrik Sedin Daniel Sedin

Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

By Jeff Paterson

Nov 12, 2026, 17:39 ESTUpdated: Nov 12, 2026, 17:41 EST

Comments

There was double disappointment at the podium Thursday morning as Daniel and Henrik Sedin met the media for a scheduled quarterly evaluation of the struggling hockey club they oversee. The franchise-icon identical twins and new co-Presidents of the last-place Vancouver Canucks fielded media questions for 25 minutes and repeatedly expressed frustration with the club’s current state of affairs, with three wins on the season and just one victory in the past 17 outings.

There was no pounding on the table or anything that came close to any kind of fiery outburst. It was all measured, it was sincere, and it was clear that neither of the hockey bosses is content with all the losing. At the same time, it was an affirmation of the club’s commitment to rebuild properly and to accept its place at the bottom of the standings now, with the goal of eventually building a championship contender.

“We took this role for two reasons: we care about this organization and this city, and we were also tired of being mediocre,” Henrik Sedin said. “We want to be a part of building a team that continuously makes the playoffs. Could we have retooled and sold the fans on the hope of making the playoffs and still being on the outside looking in? Yes. But we tried to sell something else, and that’s getting back to the playoffs repeatedly.”

While acknowledging the team’s terrible record of 3-16-1 at the 20-game mark, the Sedins are doing what they can to demonstrate stability at the top of the organization’s hockey hierarchy. They both stated repeatedly that no one is happy with the repeated beatings the club is taking on the ice. But they understand that this comes with the territory of a National Hockey League rebuild.

Tough times now are the price for a brighter future. Still, they expected a little more from the team they have assembled.

“Building consistency in our game and day-to-day performance is going to take time, but that said, we’re certainly not happy with our results, and nobody should be,” Daniel stated. “We all understand that we need to be better, and that starts with holding ourselves accountable and finding ways to improve. We want to make it clear that we are looking daily at ways to improve our chances to build a championship team.”

“Our roster is better than this, we know that, coaches know that, players know that,” Henrik added. “If you look at the schedule, we knew at the start it was going to be really, really tough. That’s just the way it was.”

The Sedins acknowledged the club’s 1-8 start on home ice and recognized fans are being asked to pay top dollar for what is supposed to be an entertainment product. They claimed they weren’t so worried about the lack of shots on goal in a recent game against the Philadelphia Flyers or the fact they went an entire period without a shot in an October home game against the Detroit Red Wings.

They said the lack of shots on goal is a byproduct of failing to play the game the right way. They pointed to a lack of adherence to the systems being implemented by Manny Malhotra and his coaching staff and the need for the players to break pucks out better and to win more 50/50 battles to come up with more pucks that, in turn, will lead to scoring chances and ultimately produce more shots on net.

As for the job the coaches have done in the early going, the Sedins were quick to heap praise on the effort level and the overall approach.

“I think Manny and his coaching staff, their ability to come after some tough losses at the start of this season, they come back the day after looking for solutions,” Daniel said. “They’re very honest in their conversations about what needs to get better. And I think that’s the only way to get better as a group is to have those conversations and try to solve issues with our game and come up with solutions.”

With just seven points through 20 games, the Canucks are on pace for a sub-30-point season. The hope, obviously, is that the club will show signs of improvement as the schedule wears on and will find ways to grind out a few more victories.

Still, there is a strong chance that the 2026-27 season will be one for the Canucks’ record books for all the wrong reasons. But Henrik Sedin isn’t worried about where this season might stand in a historical context.

“I don’t think in a couple of years you’re going to look back at this season if we put up 40 points or 60 points or 70 points; we want to see progress that’s just the way it is,” Henrik said. “In 20 games, when we sit here again and talk to you guys, I hope we’re playing better, and we’re taking steps. That’s all we care about. Could we have had three or four more wins right now? A hundred percent, if you look at the games. But we don’t, and we’re disappointed.”

So the Canucks will stay the course as tough as it is right now. The Sedins said the hockey club is constantly evaluating what it has on its roster, but is not interested in simply peddling players for draft picks. They said the aim is to find players that can be part of the solution here and can grow with the hockey team.

While the losses pile up, Daniel wants the players to remember these dark days and use them to fuel their desire to get better.

“Losing is hard, absolutely, but as a player you don’t want to go through this again,” he said. “Our belief is that our players are going to look every day as an opportunity to get better because they don’t want to be in this situation again. If they shy away from that, they shouldn’t be here. We need players that can push through adversity and become mentally strong. We’re learning a lot about our players right now, and I think the players are learning a lot about themselves. They need to learn how to deal with adversity and get better every day.”

The Canucks have been off since a disappointing 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on Monday night. Their next chance to end the team’s current six-game losing streak comes Friday night against JT Miller and the New York Rangers.