REPORT: Three Canucks decline World Championship invite

Despite receiving four invitations from team Sweden for this month’s upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championships, only one member of the Vancouver Canucks will be representing Tre Kronor in Paris, France.

The Canucks announced this morning that defenseman Alex Edler has accepted a spot on the team while Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Loui Eriksson have all declined their invitations. It may seem odd, given that Henrik, Daniel and Eriksson had sub-par seasons by their standards, but perhaps the veterans feel they’d be better served with a full offseason of rest.

Whatever the case with his teammates, Edler will represent Sweden for the sixth time in his career when he suits up for the tournament opening game against Russia on Friday. The 31 year-old blue liner had an incredibly inconsistent season again in Vancouver with only 6 goals and 21 points in 68 games in 2016-17. A far cry from his career high 49 points in 2011-12. For Edler, a turnaround campaign in 2017-18 could start with a strong showing for his home country this May.