Not even an hour before the start of NHL free agency, the first hammer fell.
TSN's Darren Dreger reported that twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin have agreed to matching five-year contracts, and they will be staying with the Vancouver Canucks.
The TSN report says the deals are for an average of $6.1 million per season, which is likely at least a bit less than the pair would have gotten on the open market.
Not only are they twin brothers who have played together for their entire NHL career, but the Sedins have been remarkably (and similarly) durable and effective with Vancouver.
Henrik Sedin has played 646 NHL games, scoring 109 goals and 460 points. He has 14 goals and 30 points in 53 career playoff games.
Daniel Sedin has played 642 NHL games, and he has 179 goals and 462 points to his credit. Daniel has added nine goals and 28 points in 53 playoff games.
The linemates make Vancouver's offense a legitimate one, no matter who they work with. The Canucks still have roughly $11 million of cap space for this season, so they are not necessarily done making deals, but this will stand as the most significant.
Losing the Sedins could have had a huge impact on their ability to score goals, given the lack of proven goal-scoring depth on the roster. Not only do the Northwest Division champions get to keep their best players, but they may have done so with some sort of discount.
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