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Jason Botchford: Ex-Canuck Alex Burrows retires after 13 seasons in NHL

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The greatest compliment the Sedins ever paid was saved for Alex Burrows.

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Of course it was. Would you have expected anyone else?

Swimming in emotion during the Sedins’ immaculate last stand, a final week for the ages, Daniel was asked about his longtime, feisty, French Canadian wingman.

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Could this have happened without him?

If not for Burrows, could Henrik and Daniel have had these hall-of-fame worthy careers in which they won back-to-back Art Ross trophies, and should have had twin Hart trophies, too?

“No,” said Daniel, without hesitating, emphatically cutting down every silly poll about who was the twins’ best winger. “For sure, not.

“We played with a lot of great wingers. But for the two of us, he was the best one there ever was.”

Burrows is Vancouver’s greatest underdog story ever told. It is partly why long after his retirement announcement Friday he will be beloved in this city. This is a blessed part of the world because of the mountains, the ocean, and one glorious hockey line that had Swedish twins lined up with a non-drafted, fast-talking, left-shot right-winger from a Montreal suburb who breathed in hockey as often as the rest of us huff oxygen.

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From 2009 through 2013, Burrows played 3,239 even-strength minutes with Henrik. In those five seasons, Burrows scored 109 even-strength goals, the sixth most in the NHL and just two behind Ilya Kovalchuk.

And in those five seasons, Henrik had the second most points in the league and Daniel was fifth. Their line was ridiculous, incredible and, on so many nights, unstoppable.

“The best times were just the three of us talking together,” Daniel said. “How would we attack these guys for a game?

“Whether it was a shutdown D or a shutdown line, we’d look for ways to beat them to score goals. There was a lot of back and forth between us and a ton of ideas. Really, that’s what hockey is all about.”

The Canucks’ Alex Burrows waves to fans as he leaves the ice at the 2017 Kids Fund Superskills competition. Burrows announced his retirement on Friday after 13 seasons in the NHL.
The Canucks’ Alex Burrows waves to fans as he leaves the ice at the 2017 Kids Fund Superskills competition. Burrows announced his retirement on Friday after 13 seasons in the NHL. Photo by Mark van Manen /PNG

Burrows is what hockey is all about. At least he was here in Vancouver. More than any athlete in recent memory, he understood us, this city, and we got him.

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We marvelled at his straight-out-of-the-ECHL backstory. We deified his Dragon Slayer goal. And we cherished his spot in Sedins lore.

In the glory days of the 2011-era Canucks, no one embodied the ongoing us-against-the-world motif more than Burrows.

Misunderstood just about everywhere else, he was a legend here. And, good lord, could he troll.

But that’s not why this hockey market rallies for him. We do that because he scored the most important goal in Canucks history. We do it because he transformed himself from a guy clinging to his professional hockey life in the minors to the winger who helped make the Sedins two of the greatest players in the game.

We do it because of his grand act of defiance, when he stood up for what was right to Stephane Auger and the NHL, even though by doing it he ensured he’d never again get the benefit of the doubt from officials.

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We do it because everyone else kept dismissing him. Too slow. No skill. Can’t shoot. Can’t play.

Boy, were they wrong.

That’s the part that is so often missed when fans and media from other cities analyze Burrows. The man could play hockey. He understood it and could explain it as well as any player you’ll ever come across.

“He really knows the game,” Daniel said. “His intellect always stood out. In PK and power-play meetings, he would always come up with solutions. It was a lot of fun just talking about the game with him.”

It sure was, and that’s why there should be a place for him in it now, as his playing days have come to an end. He aspires to be an executive and, with his knowledge, teams should be lining up to put him on that path.

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Vancouver will always be a Burrows town. He did everything he could to bring this city a Stanley Cup. There was never a moment when you didn’t think he was doing everything he could to try to get the Canucks the next win.

It was there even when he left. Part of the reason he decided to accept the trade to Ottawa and move his young family was because he knew it was best for the future of the Canucks franchise.

And long after he was gone, he’d reach out to Jake Virtanen. He’d push him. He’d motivate him. He’d promise him good things were going to happen.

Virtanen could barely believe it. But that’s the type of player Burrows is.

The type of man that if you meet him, and get to know him, you will never forget him.

jbotchford@postmedia.com

twitter.com/botchford


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