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Canucks Co-President Henrik Sedin Wants To 'Build A Team That The Fans Can Be Proud Of'
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- Canucks Co-President Henrik Sedin Wants To 'Build A Team That The Fans Can Be Proud Of'
New Vancouver Canucks co-President of Hockey Operations Henrik Sedin caught the attention of many fans when he said a particular quote on Thursday at his first media availability in his new role.
"To do this as fast as possible, we've got to be very careful and go slow."
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It's an interesting concept in regards to a rebuild, and not something the team has particularly practiced in previous years. "Re-tools" have resulted in Vancouver only making the post-season twice since 2015, with their farthest campaign being Game 7 of the second round. With both Daniel and Henrik Sedin now co-Presidents of Hockey Ops, and Ryan Johnson now General Manager, it appears the organization is trying to present itself as turning over a new leaf.
It's something that, Henrik says, ultimately led to the twins taking on their new roles.
"If [ownership] wouldn't have come to us with their plan and how they see this being done, if they would have said something different where we need to win tomorrow, that was not something we could support and feel that we could do a good job of," he told Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on Sportsnet podcast 32 Thoughts earlier today. "That [Francesco Aquilini] used the word rebuild was surprising, but for us, talking to him and ownership for a couple of weeks, we knew that's what he was going to say."
The thought of Vancouver officially entering rebuild-status brushes only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Sedins taking the roles of co-Presidents of Hockey Operations. Their loyalty to the organization stems long before that — back to when they were drafted second and third-overall in 1999 — and even past their retirement in 2018.
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In their recent roles as development coaches and advisors to management, Daniel and Henrik have had the opportunity to get to know this organization in a different light — not just from a player's standpoint. Helping out with the Abbotsford Canucks, getting to know some of the younger players . . . All of this contributed to where they are set to head now.
"We've never looked for the spotlight, we wanted to help the players that we worked with as well as we could, and for us, there was such a huge joy and happiness when we could see the guys from Abbotsford taking the step up to join the big team, so that was enough for us, but when this opportunity came we felt more ready than a couple of years ago.
"We spent a lot of time with both teams. We've been kind of in the background, we haven't really wanted to be seen or anything, but we spent a lot of time on the ice. At every game, at home, we watched every Abbotsford game, to get an understanding of the players," Sedin added regarding the twins' involvement with the AHL-affiliate.
May 14, 2026; Vancouver, BC, Canada; The Vancouver Canucks promoted Henrik Sedin (left) to co-president during a press conference at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Vancouver's new management group has been vocal about the changes that need to come before the team can be competitive again. These don't just refer to personnel changes such as a new head coach (though Sedin did mention that more on this would be coming later this week) or free-agency signings. Establishing a good environment has been stressed as a major piece of the puzzle, while community involvement has also been cited as a priority.
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Being proud of the on-ice product is one thing; taking comfort in the team's reputation off the ice is another.
"There needs to be values for sure. There needs to be alignment — that's number one, and that's something we have discussed a lot in the past couple of weeks, from top to bottom," he added. "We need to get back to playing a big part in this community, that's part of being a professional athlete, but it's even bigger to be a Vancouver Canuck. We've always said — you're going to win some, you're going to lose some, but if you can do that part well, it's going to help you as a player."
At the end of the day, establishing a good environment where fans can still feel proud of supporting the organization will be essential. There's no set timeline on how long that could take — and honestly, there shouldn't be — but building the Canucks culture will be a much bigger long-term factor than whatever the team's records will show in the coming seasons.
"There might be times where we feel, and the city feels, that we're taking two steps forward. There's going to be times where they feel like this is going the wrong way, but you have to stick to the plan, and you can't stress about when things are going downhill a little bit, and you can't be over-positive when things are going well either, for a short period of time. We know what you need to do, we've got to fill this roster up with some character guys and build a team that the fans can be proud of."
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