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Whatever. As it turns out, their place on the team had little to do with their decision. In the statement released on Monday morning, the twins said it’s time to focus on family and life after hockey, and if you believe anything you read in the next couple of days, believe that their families were at the centre of this.

“It’s time to help with the homework every night,” the statement read. “It’s time to be at every birthday party and stand in the cold at every hockey rink, soccer game and riding lesson in the weekends. It’s time to be at home for dinner every night.”

Beautiful. There’s no doubt they had help crafting their message, but there’s no doubt it came straight from their true hearts.

The twins also said Vancouver has become home, and they planned to be part of this community long after they retire. There’s something reassuring in that; that the affection and respect we gave the twins over the years will be and has been reciprocated. Somewhere along the line they became one of us, which, somehow, just adds another layer to this remarkable story, and you have to remind yourself what a story it’s been.

Photo by Bill Keay / Vancouver Sun

The twins have been with us so long, in fact, you’d forgotten about the magnitude of that story. For starters, they’re, you know, twins; two kids who grew up together, played together and became stars together in their hometown. And that’s when they were still teenagers in Sweden.

If the story ends there and they go their separate ways in the NHL, it’s still a helluva yarn. But, through a remarkable set of circumstances too complicated to recreate here, then Canucks GM Brian Burke took a top-three draft pick, sprinkled Bryan McCabe, other draft picks and some pixie dust on it, and turned it all into Henrik and Daniel.