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As he had never heard the words before, Sven Baertschi was blindsided by the question.

Do you know Daniel Sedin says you have more talent than he does?

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“I have more …,” Baertschi stammered, then paused.

“Yeah? That’s amazing to hear. It’s crazy, you know? They’re top players in the league.”

Yes, Daniel and Henrik Sedin have won National Hockey League scoring titles, MVP awards, Olympic and world championship gold medals. They were among the best players in the NHL for a decade. And they remain the top players on the Vancouver Canucks.

But since the Swedish brothers are also 36 years old, their ongoing status as first-liners is both admirable and a little alarming.

For years, pre-dating the Trevor Linden-Jim Benning management regime that began in 2014, the Canucks have known they will have to replace the Sedins as front-line forwards. Need to replace the Sedins. Yet no one has come close to doing that and there is a danger that one of these seasons, one of these weeks, the best players in Canucks history will suddenly no longer be able to carry their team.