COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The last time Radim Vrbata left the Arizona Coyotes for a new team, things didn't go so well. His experience as a free-agent disappointment with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008-09 -- three goals and three assists in 18 games -- highlighted just how hard it can be to adjust to a new team, especially when it comes with expectations attached to a new contract worth millions.

In so many ways, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin made Vrbata's second transition away from the desert much more successful. This past summer, coming off a 51-point season in his second stint with the Coyotes, Vrbata signed a two-year deal worth $10 million to join the Vancouver Canucks and the Sedins, leaving long-term offers on the table. A weekend like he's experiencing right now is the payoff.

At 33, Vrbata is a first-time All-Star and spent much of his media availability in Columbus talking about just how special the Sedins are.

First, he saw it off the ice, when they worked hard to make sure he was immediately comfortable. They picked him up for practice. They introduced him to staff.

"It's little things, it makes a huge difference," Vrbata said.

Then came learning how to play with them on the ice, something that was a process.

"It's just the reads," Vrbata said. "Sometimes they like to do their own stuff and you don't want to get involved. Maybe on their cycles, they like to be left alone, and you have to get open somewhere else."

It has clicked for Vrbata and the Sedins. The Czech native has 18 goals and 31 points in his first season with the Canucks. He's also their lone representative in the All-Star Game, but he doesn't necessarily look at it that way. He"s in Columbus to represent the entire line.

"I feel like I'm just a beneficiary of how that line worked and how everything went for us as a line," he said. "They could as easily be here instead of me and nobody could say a word. I don't think it's just my game, it's the whole thing. They deserve lots of credit."