What roles should Sedins play in their final three games? Now that we know there are only three games remaining in the remarkable careers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, all that remains to be seen is how much we see of them over their final three acts in the National Hockey League.

VANCOUVER – Now that we know there are only three games remaining in the remarkable careers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, all that remains to be seen is how much we see of them over their final three acts in the National Hockey League. Reluctant to make the entire 2017-18 season about themselves, the Sedins made it clear early on they didn’t want any part of a farewell tour. But, after Monday’s announcement that they are calling it a career when the season ends next weekend, that’s exactly what they’re going to get – albeit a brief one – with home games against Vegas on Tuesday and Arizona Thursday before the grand finale in Edmonton on Saturday.

This past Saturday, Daniel Sedin was the lowest in ice time among the 18 skaters the Canucks dressed in a 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played a paltry 12:01 on the afternoon which was less than rookies Adam Gaudette and Ashton Sautner – who together had combined for all of four games in the NHL prior to puck drop and six games after it. Henrik was marginally higher at 13:45.

Now that Travis Green knows the landscape and understands that these three games mean absolutely nothing in the standings and absolutely everything to Sedin fans everywhere, the coach has a responsibility to treat Daniel and Henrik like the stars they are and have been for the past decade. So, they need to play more in these final three games than they did on Saturday.

Yet at the same time, there is no need to go overboard and play them into the ground. Neither twin has crested 20 minutes of ice time in a game this season – and there is no point in making that happen now. Henrik’s season-high is 19:42 while Daniel’s is 19:03, both coming in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues in the final game before Christmas. That was while the Canucks were without Bo Horvat, Brandon Sutter and Sven Baertschi. There was a requirement back then to push the Sedins close to the 20-minute mark. That need doesn’t exist these days with a portion of the next wave of offensive players now on the job.

On the season, Henrik is averaging 15:23 a night while Daniel clocks in on average at 15:06. Hopefully, Green can find enough shifts over the final three games to get the Sedins close to their season averages. Because as much as fans will want to shower the two greatest scorers the franchise has ever known with love and adoration, those same fans also have an appetite to see the young players perform.

Whether it’s Bo Horvat stepping up as the new face of the franchise, Jake Virtanen taking steps forward with his game, Nikolay Goldobin continuing to gain traction as he has in recent outings or Gaudette, the freshest face of all, continuing to get his feet wet in the best league in the world. Green’s biggest challenge over the final three games of the season is to strike a balance between giving the Sedins the ice time they deserve while continuing to allow the young players to grow.

Sure, fans lucky enough to have a ticket to either of the final two homes games would love to see 60 minutes from the brothers, but we all know that’s not going to happen. Whether they play 14 or 16 or somehow manage to squeeze 18 minutes of ice time out of any of these games isn’t really important. Special teams will have a say in some of that. But let’s be honest: what matters most is that Daniel and Henrik are out for the opening faceoff, so they can be introduced in house as starters and be given a rousing ovation prior to the game. From there, the most-important thing is that they are out on the ice late in the game so that they can be saluted yet again. The coach may even want to use his timeout in the final minutes not to design any kind of strategy, but simply to extend the night and prolong the opportunity for the fans to respond.

At this stage of the proceedings, goals and assists from 22 and 33 would be gravy, but no one holding a ticket for these final three games can be the least bit disappointed if the Sedins don’t hit the scoresheet. It will do nothing – absolutely nothing – to alter the remarkable legacies they have left on the ice and in this city. They showed this season they can still play and produce and there is something noble about going out with some gas left in the tank rather than being shown the door because the league has passed them by.

The biggest celebration of all will come sometime next season when the Sedins rightfully have their jerseys retired and raised to the rafters. There was a suggestion that should happen on Thursday, but they’ll need those numbers one last time to finish out the season at Rogers Place in Edmonton. It would have been easy for the twins to take a pass on meaningless road trip to the Alberta capital for one last game and make the homestand the official conclusion of their careers. But it won’t end like that. Forever the consummate team players, the Sedins will slug it out to the bitter end with their teammates as they have for 17 seasons in Canucks colours.

Before then, however, the parties of the year will take place with two celebrations in front of the home fans. It would be amazing if the Sedins turned back the clock and put on a show. But the bigger – and better – show will be from the fans in attendance letting the Sedins know how much they’ve meant over two incredible decades.