A trio of former Vancouver Canucks were recently left off ESPN’s list of the 25-best NHLers in the 21st century, so far.
In the early part of the 21st century, especially from 2002-03 to 2010-11, the Vancouver Canucks were one of the more dominant teams in the Western Conference, especially during the regular season, winning the Northwest Division five times and the Presidents’ Trophy twice (2010-11 & 2011-12).
A huge reason for Vancouver’s success was a trio of players – Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Roberto Luongo, the latter of whom joined the Canucks through a trade with the Florida Panthers in 2006.
In a recent article, ESPN ranked the top-25 players of the 21st century so far and while everyone named is worthy of a spot in their own right, it was a little shocking to see that the Sedin twins and Roberto Luongo weren’t mentioned, given how well they played during their respective NHL careers.
Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane and Nicklas Lidstrom took the top-five spots on ESPN’s list. While Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Brodeur, Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeni Malkin and Patrice Bergeron rounded out the top-ten.
During their playing careers, the Sedins and Roberto Luongo were among the best in the National Hockey League, especially in their prime. During his eight years with the Canucks, Luongo had a goals against average of 2.36, a .919 save percentage and 38 shutouts. As for Daniel and Henrik Sedin, they finished their careers with 1,041 and 1,070 points respectively.
The most likely reason for their omission from ESPN’s list has to do with winning trophies. Henrik Sedin won the Hart and Art Ross in 2009-10, while Daniel took home the Art Ross the following season. As for Luongo, the only trophy he picked up in his career was the Jennings. Not winning a Vezina Trophy during his career was likely a big factor for him not being named on their list.
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