Subscribe
Follow Us
The Ottawa Senators are adding a familiar face to the front office, hiring legend Daniel Alfredsson in a coaching and player development role, the team announced.
“Great, without a question, to be back in the fire,” Alfredsson said on Friday, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. “I got a taste of it last year just helping out with injured guys and being around the team a little bit. It's going to be more than that this year. I'll be around more.”
Alfredsson is the highest scorer in Senators history, and played 17 seasons with the franchise from 1995-2013. He's the all-time leader in goals with 426, assists with 682 and poitns with 1,108.
The 50-year-old was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1994 NHL Draft. He won the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie in 1995-96 and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2007. They went on to lose to the Anaheim Ducks in five games.
After playing his final season with the Detroit Red Wings in 2013-24, he earned a Hockey Hall of Fame nod in 2022.
“Never mind that he's Daniel Alfredsson, but I look at his character and his hockey acumen, I was eager to get him in wherever he wanted,” president of hockey operations Steve Staios explained. “And he's got a great deal of passion. Obviously we know his competitiveness. We feel like this is the best point for him to start, get him on the ice around our good, young core and continue to help them get better.”
“I think everybody's very fired up to have him,” captain Brady Tkachuk echoed. “Of course, not just him as a player but what he's done for the city and the community. Just all the experiences that he's gone through, to share that with us, I think that's going to help us get to the next level.”
Alfredsson confirmed that he would be around the team very frequently in his new coaching and development role.
“The connection with the team and the city means a lot,” he reflected. “I've been following these guys since I came back to Ottawa pretty closely. Seeing this young group growing together and getting better each year has been fun to watch and now I get to be a part of it.”
The Ottawa Senators have playoff aspirations in 2023-24, and Daniel Alfredsson will look to help the team return to the dance for the first time since 2017 next April.
