Sedins have secured their place among greatest NHL siblings

Tributes continue to pour in for Vancouver Canucks forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin, as the brothers have announced that they will retire at the end of the season.

Coming into the league together in 1999, the brothers will have spent their entire NHL careers together and with one franchise.

They will also finish fourth in all-time combined points for siblings in the NHL.
 

1)    The Sutters – 2,936 points

Brent (829), Brian (636), Ron (535), Duane (342), Rich (315), Darryl (279)

You can’t mention brothers in the NHL without mentioning the Sutters, six brothers that combine to lead this list with 2,936 points.

The Viking, Alberta, clan had at least one brother playing in the NHL from 1976-77 to 2000-01 and also collected six Stanley Cups over the course of their careers.

Darryl added two more championships to the tally as the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.

Two of the brothers, Ron and Rich, are twins and were both taken in the 1982 NHL Draft.  Ron was selected fourth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers and Rich was taken 10th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
 

2)    The Gretzkys – 2,861 points

Wayne (2,857), Brent (4)

Easily the most one-sided sibling combo on the list, Brent played two seasons in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning and collected four points in 13 games, including his only goal during the 1993-94 season.

Wayne, on the other hand, achieved a little more success than his younger brother did over a career that spanned from 1979-80 to 1998-99.

The elder of the Gretzky brothers retired as the NHL’s leader in both goals and assists.  In fact, Wayne has more assists than the second-highest player, Jaromir Jagr, has points.

He’s also won the Stanley Cup four times, the Hart Trophy nine times and the Art Ross Trophy 10 times.
 

3)    The Stastnys – 2,169

Peter (1,239), Anton (636), Marian (294)

Beginning their careers with the Quebec Nordiques, Peter and Anton Stastny defected to Canada from Czechoslovakia and began playing in the NHL during the 1980-81 season.  Their older brother, Marian, would eventually join them after defecting in 1981.

They became the third set of three brothers to play on the same NHL team after Max, Doug and Reg Bentley of the 1940s’ Chicago Blackhawks and Barclay, Bob and Bill Plager of the ‘70s’ St. Louis Blues.

Peter won the Calder Trophy during the 80-81 season, after posting 109 points his first season in the league.

Although best known for their time in Quebec, Peter would eventually go on to play with the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues while Marian would spend one season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Anton played his entire career with the Nordiques.
 

4)    The Sedins – 2,106 points

Henrik (1,068), Daniel (1,038)

Since being selected second and third overall in the 1999 NHL Draft, Henrik and Daniel Sedin have been models of excellence and consistency for the Vancouver Canucks.

Each brother has collected the Art Ross Trophy once, Henrik in 2009-10 with 112 points and Daniel in 2010-11 with 104 points.

Henrik was awarded the Hart Trophy for his 2009-10 season, while Daniel picked up the Ted Lindsay Award as voted by the players in 2010-11.

The pair also led the Canucks to within one game of capturing their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, when they dropped the 2011 Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
 

5)    The Richards – 2,012 points

Henri (1,046), Maurice (966)

Maurice Richard is one of the most revered figures in both NHL and Canadian history.  

The Rocket was the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games and at one time was the NHL’s all-time points and goals leader.  The elder Richard was a member of eight Stanley Cup championship teams including five straight titles from 1956-1960.

Such was his goal-scoring prowess that the NHL created a trophy for the single-season goal scoring leader and named it the Rocket Richard Trophy.

Henri was 15 years younger than his brother and thus given the nickname “The Pocket Rocket,” however he went on to have one of the most successful careers in NHL history in his own right.

The younger Richard captured the Stanley Cup 11 times, more than any other player in NHL history.

He was also a nine-time All-Star and was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 1974.

Both Richards spent their entire careers with the Montreal Canadiens.