With no more Sedin jerseys on the racks, will retailers take a hit when the twins retire?
Posted April 3, 2018 7:03 am.
Last Updated April 3, 2018 7:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The pending retirement of Henrik and Daniel Sedin isn’t just leaving holes in the team’s lineup.
With just three games to go in the twins’ NHL careers, local sports apparel stores won’t be able to count on stocking their iconic jerseys for the first time in nearly 18 years.
“To be honest, we don’t even have any of their (Sedins) jerseys hanging and ready to go,” says Vancity Sports owner John Svelka.
“This year was the first year. We were really concerned. If we did up a whole bunch of jerseys — number them up, stitch them up — and they don’t move, then we have to put them on half-price. And we didn’t know if they were going to retire or stay and play another year.”
But he adds there’s an interesting caveat, despite the pair’s good-guy image.
“They (Sedins) are great guys, class acts — but in our store, it’s sad to say they were never my top-selling Canucks jerseys, ever.”
Svelka says that’s true of the entirety of the twins’ 18-year NHL careers.
“They (Sedins) don’t sell well. Even 2011, 2010, 2012, when the Canucks were in their heyday, it was other players that we’d be selling quite a bit more of. There were always guys ahead of them. When (Todd) Bertuzzi and (Markus) Näslund played, they (Sedins) were just rookies — you know, first and second-year players. We didn’t sell a lot of their jerseys.
“As they became more popular, more established, more star power, there was some movement on their jerseys but not as much as other players. It was all usually Luongo, Kesler, Bieksa, Burrows.”
Svelka does expect a nostalgia-driven run on their iconic numbers 22 and 33, now that their retirement is official, but says he’s already seen a recent run on jerseys with names like Gaudette and Boeser on the back.
The Canucks are at home tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights and then taken on the Arizona Coyotes at Rogers Arena on Thursday. They close out the season on the road Saturday night in Edmonton.
