Henrik and Daniel Sedin will go down as two of the most iconic Vancouver Canucks in franchise history. Currently, Henrik holds the record for games played (1,330), assists (830), points (1,070), and plus/minus (plus-165), while Daniel has it for goals (393) and power play goals (138). They have also been part of many highlight reels over the years and revolutionized hockey with their cycle game and creativity on the power play.
But the Sedins couldn’t have done all that without the help of their teammates. Throughout their career, Daniel and Henrik had their fair share of linemates from one-hit wonders like Anson Carter, Radim Vrbata, and Jason King to long-term and arguably the best in Alex Burrows. In this series, we’re going to strive to revisit them all, starting with Trent Klatt.
Becoming a Sedin Triplet
Before Klatt became a Canuck in 1998-99, the former Washington Capitals fourth-round pick had stints with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers. His best season came in 1996-97 when he put up 24 goals and 45 points in 76 games with the Flyers.
Klatt was acquired by the Canucks on Oct. 19, 1998, for a conditional pick in the 2000 Draft and ended up playing 73 games and scoring four goals and 14 points during the 1998-99 season. Daniel and Henrik were selected second and third overall respectively in 1999 and didn’t join the team until 2000-01, so Klatt had a full two seasons under his belt before the wonder twins made their NHL debut.
Related: Examining the Sedin Twins’ Hockey Hall of Fame Credentials
According to box scores from back in the 2000-01 season, Klatt first skated with the Sedins in their NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2000. His first goal assisted by one of them came a few games later on Oct. 14, against Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres when Daniel had the primary assist on his first goal of the season.
Riding Shotgun With the Sedins
Klatt was the original triplet for the Sedin twins as he seemed to mesh perfectly with their style of game. He wasn’t a prolific scorer by any means, but he knew how to play with them. At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, he had the size to go into the corners and retrieve the puck so that they could work their magic. He ended up grabbing the secondary assist on Daniel’s first NHL goal on Oct. 8, 2000, against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the primary assist on Henrik’s third on Oct. 25, 2000, against the Dallas Stars. All in all, he was involved in four of Henrik’s career goals and 12 of Daniel’s, and one of the Sedins was in on 17 of his 143 career goals.
I loved playing with them. They’re obviously way better than I ever was, but we were all very similar in the way that we played. Our games matched very well.
– Trent Klatt
While that doesn’t seem like a ton of production, the Sedins were just starting out in the NHL and were nowhere near the peak of their abilities. And even though Klatt won’t go down as the most productive triplet, he did provide some memorable moments on their line, including the overtime winner during the 2003 Playoffs against his hometown Minnesota Wild when he tipped in a Daniel Sedin wrist shot to win Game 1.
Despite the lack of exciting shifts that ended in a goal, Klatt will forever be known as the winger that first played with the Sedins and helped them get accustomed to the league. As a veteran of 580 games before Daniel and Henrik first stepped onto NHL ice, he was invaluable to their development. According to former head coach Marc Crawford, the Sedins were a huge influence on Klatt as well.
“He [Klatt] ended up being a big part to help them develop as quickly as they did. He was the right guy. He went to the net, was big and strong, and his personality was non-threatening — a guy they really appreciated. It helped Trent more than them” (from ‘Canucks Hockey Hall of Famers: How do you coach the Sedins? A trio learned there’s no playbook’, The Province, 11/10/22).
Career After the Sedins
After three seasons on the Sedins’ hip, Klatt decided to move on during the 2003 offseason and sign with the Los Angeles Kings. Hoping to get more of an opportunity in the top-six, he hit a career-high 43 points in 2003-04 and had the most goals (17) since his career-high 24 in 1996-97 when he was with the Flyers. Unfortunately, the 2004-05 lockout occurred, and the then-34-year-old decided to retire just a week before the 2005-06 season was supposed to begin. All in all, he finished his NHL career with 143 goals and 343 points in 782 games – 193 of which were spent skating alongside the Sedins.
Where Is Klatt Now?
Klatt retired to spend more time with his family and took a job coaching Bantam A hockey in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, a position he held between 2008 and 2010 and then again between 2015 and 2017. He returned to the NHL in 2009-10 with the New York Islanders as a development coach and has been the director of amateur scouting since the 2018-19 season – a position he first held in 2012-13 and took a break from to become an amateur scout in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
All stats were taken from Stathead Hockey and Elite Prospects