Two Rangers have unique respect for retiring NHL greats

Henrik and Daniel Sedin were born on Sept. 26, 1980, in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. About a year and a half later and 350 kilometers to the west, Henrik and Joel Lundqvist were born on March 2, 1982, in Are, Sweden.

On Monday, having caught the news the Sedins had announced their retirement effective with the end of the Canucks’ season, Henrik Lundqvist expressed his appreciation for the twins.

“I remember watching them for the first time in Sweden. They were dominating the Swedish League,” the King told The Post. “My brother and I were 15 or 16, and as twins we thought it was so cool that twins could dominate like that.

“They were definitely an inspiration, brothers being that good. When I got to know them on the national team, they were great guys as well as great players. They’re good people; nice guys, humble guys. They’ve been great for the NHL.”

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault coached the Sedins for seven seasons and was behind the Vancouver bench for the run to Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final the Canucks lost at home to the Bruins. He has routinely expressed his admiration for the twins since coming to New York.

A couple of years ago when enmeshed in a verbal duel with then Boston coach Claude Julien after Brad Marchand had kneed Lundqvist while crashing through the crease, Vigneault at one point referred to “Sedin” rather than “Lundqvist.”

“Oh, you know, it brought me down Memory Lane,” Vigneault said when asked about the Sedins. “I communicated with them [Monday] night. I thanked them for my time there. They thanked me — they had their best years under our coaching.

“I was probably tougher on the twins than any other players that I’ve coached in the past. I knew they could take it. I knew our team would benefit from it, because if I was able to demand a lot from them, it would make sure that everybody else would do the same things. You talk about a guy falling in the right place at the right time? I got there and the twins were 25 years old — they were young players with still a lot of development left in their game.

“And at the same time that the twins were there, Ryan Kesler, Alex Burroughs, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Edler, Jannik Hansen were all first- or second-year players to start in the league. I was at the right place at the right time and they’re two of the best players I’ve ever coached. We were able to develop those guys, we added some veteran players and the twins became what they are today: Future Hall of Famers. Very fortunate. Right place at the right time.”