With the storied career of our captain coming to an end in the near future, should Ottawa trade Daniel Alfredsson this year to a Cup favourite and give him a chance to have his name on the Cup?
Here's what some other Sens Blogs had to say:
- Jeremy from Black Aces, You can follow Black Aces on Twitter here.
I don't think the player himself, the management or the fans have any appetite to say goodbye to Alfredsson. Too many people are already writing his hockey obituary but Alfie could play another three seasons if the team starts to win again and it remains fun for him to stick around. If Mark Recchi can do it, a guy like Alfie with a similar stocky physique and drive to compete can do it too. His value to this team far outweighs any kind of compensation they would get from another team that wouldn't be able to guarantee a Cup to Alfie anyways. Those types of moves never seem to feel right anyways. Ray Bourque may be the one example where it truly worked but that was more like a fairy tale than any kind of template for other stars in the waning years of their career. I bet Mike Modano wishes he retired a Dallas Star instead of being an odd fit in Detroit this past season.
This is a tough one to answer. It really depends on what perspective you want to take. He only has a few years left and clearly we will not be winning the cup in the time remaining in his career and I think many of us would like to see him have another shot at winning the ultimate prize, because lord knows he deserves it. But on the other hand, it would be awfully tough to see the captain in any uniform but ours wouldn't it? And really he's one of the only reasons to come out to watch a game at the moment for many (not myself). He's one of the few "stars" along with Spezza and Karlsson that people instantly recognize and want to lay down their money to see.
I suppose it would also depend on what the return of an alleged trade would bring in. I imagine we would be quite shocked at what we'd get in return for someone his age. In my opinion it wouldn't be worth it and we keep him here to finish his career as a Senator. The only way you consider really moving him is if you're getting a top end young player in return (won't happen) or if Alfredsson goes to management and asks out for one final shot at Lord Stanley.
I'd REALLY like to see him remain a career Senator but I feel he's earned the right to finish his career how he wants and would wish him well if he wanted out, no matter how hard it would be to see him in another jersey.
- Nichols from The 6th Sens, You can follow The 6th Sens on Twitter here.
Speaking strictly from an asset management perspective, it would probably be the most logical course. Ottawa’s a rebuilding organization that probably won’t be in contention by the time that Alfie hangs ‘em up. With two seasons left on a relatively cap friendly contract and assuming he’s healthy and contributing, this would be the season when he’ll have the highest trade value. (As opposed to trading him next season.) Oh, if only it was this simple... but it’s not. Alfredsson is a selfless captain who is the face of the franchise and a staple within this community who seems destined to take on some organizational role once his playing days are over.
Will they trade Daniel Alfredsson?
Regardless of how often the TO media advocates the benefits of moving Alfie, probably not. Unless, barring some change of heart, the captain privately approaches management and requests to be dealt. Ownership has already gone to great lengths to indicate that he won’t be moved and it’d be a PR disaster if they were the ones to ask him if he’d be interested in moving on.
- Peter from Silversevensens, You can follow Silversevensens on Twitter here.
I'm not sure we can say for sure Alfie's career will end before two seasons are up, but I'd agree with the general consensus that if it's up to the captain if he wants to get dealt. I don't think he's got any desire to, though, so I don't think he's going anywhere.
With only two more years left on Alfie's current contract, and with injuries beginning to pile up, Sens Army needs to come to the realization that we are witnessing the end of our beloved captain's career. Alfie is still an impact forward and can still produce at this level, and it's safe to say that he is not hanging on too long, a la Rob Brind'amour.
But with Ottawa in the midst of a rebuild, Ottawa is a few years away from even thinking about contending. If Ottawa were to consider trading their captain, I think it is done as a favor to Alfie. He will never ask for a trade, and I think it may be on the organization to approach Alfie about joining a new team. I don't think any Senators fan will think anything less of Alfie if he is shipped to a contender to have a greater chance to get his name on the Cup.
The other issue at hand here is the fact there could be a lockout at the end of this upcoming season. With the CBA set to expire next summer, this may be Alfie's last chance to play in the league, as well as for the Cup. If there is a lockout, I see Alfie and a number of other older players retiring instead of sitting on the sidelines training until the lockout is over.
With all this in mind, I don't believe Alfie will be traded this year. However, if he were to be traded, I would not feel any ill will toward him or the organization. It would be hard, but I would cheer for whatever team Alfie suits up for as he pursues his first Stanley Cup.
This is a question that I plan to dodge until the moment I am given no other choice but to consider it. As I'm sure is the case for many Sens fans, the thought of Daniel Alfredsson in another team's uniform just doesn't register for me. He has been the face of this franchise for so long and his #11 will one day hang in the rafters at SBP. Alfie has a spot with this franchise as long as he wants it and that includes his career after hockey. With all that said, if the Sens were out of the playoff picture, Alfie was healthy, the return was there AND most importantly, Alfredsson asked to go elsewhere, then I guess Murray has to consider it. For all Alfie has done for this city and franchise, he has earned the right to call his shot. Gut feeling says he wouldn't ask for a trade though.
The second edition of the roundtable will come next Wednesday.
Haha case closed
I also think if he truly has more then 2 years left in him, he will get another shot at the cup.
IF if are out of it and or close to the bottom, you have to give Alfie a shot elsewhere at having a better chance of winning that elusive Cup.
If Alfie wants to go come trade deadline you have to respect that, he will probably fetch us a couple of picks or a young prospect. Which helps the team.
Its a tough choice but I think Alfie holds the last card, whatever he decides, I can live with.
You think we will be Cup contenders in 2 years? Thats quite positive of you.
I think it will be longer than that, our talent pool at FW is almost non existant at this moment, we dont have any up and coming stars in the system.
I think if he's playing beyond the upcoming 2 years, he's probably signing a 2yr contract, so in those next 2 years, yes we could contend.
Our FW talent pool is really not that bad at the prospect level. It may lack Ovechkin or Crosby type players immediately, but Zibanejad is definitely going to be a quality NHL player and there are several other snipers and playmakers still developing as well. I like this list:
Bobby Butler
Jakob Silfverberg
Stephane Da Costa
Nikita Filatov
Stefan Noesen
Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Shane Prince
Matt Puempel
Mika Zibanejad
Louie Caporusso
Jim O'Brien
Erik Condra
Andre Petersson
Colin Greening
Kaspars Daugavins
Markus Sorensen
David Dziurzynski
Mark Stone
Derek Grant
We only need 3 to become top 6 players, joining Spezza, Alfie & Michalek. Excludes any further progress from Foligno or Regin too.
I will also bet every penny you have.
And to me, though of course I don't know him personally, I think it's a moot point - I just can't picture him wanting to move. To him (again IMO) playing his whole career with Ottawa and the boys in the room far exceeds *a shot* at a cup. There are no guarantees and I bet if you asked Alfie he'd tell you he honestly believes he could still one with Ottawa in a few years.
I guess prospects from top teams would be a good starting point. I just want the Sens to do well, and Alfie to get a cup. If he can't do it here, he should be allowed to seek it elsewhere like others in the past.
There are quite a few that could turn out to be stars. However, expecting these draft picks to turn into champions over 2 years is...ambitious :) I'm not even expecting that much from Cowen and Rundblad this year, and possibly the next.
He won't request to be traded. Like people have mentioned, going to another team doesn't guarantee a cup. 31 teams. 1 winner. Hard to pick who.
Sens organization won't move him either. Strictly in my mind, for PR reasons. Fans love him and as someone mentioned is one of the only few reasons at the moment why people will go to The Bank (other than watching an exciting rebuild). Also, I don't believe trade value would outweigh the leadership qualities he would bring to our young team.
Either way this pan out... Alfie will be in Sens hearts' forever and we shall see #11 rise to the rafters!
Lastly... Alfie is going to play 3 more season... and the 13-14 season... cup is coming home!!! He will end his brilliant career with the cup in hand!
GO SENS GO
PS Chirp - Love the round table discussion... any table side service though?
Unlike the Leafs, even if we did get an offer for Daniel, I'm sure the team would keep it very quite and not pressure him at all to take the deal. The last thing in the hockey world I'd ever want to see happen is for an offer for Alfie to be leaked public, and for him to take any fan criticism like Sundin did for not 'doing what is best for the team'.
That would be bullshit, certainly Alfie should have his decision respected. Sure most of us here would respect that, but there are lots of other 'fans' and 'media' in Ottawa that would make a huge stink about the entire situation and there would be an outcry for him to waive to be moved.
Out of those propsects, I only see Butler, Zibanejad making impacts in 2 years, all the others, probably not for another 4-5 years. Noesen being a 3 year exception!
Here is the thing though, and this is conservative optimism. Two season from now, and with only our current roster and prospect pool we very well should have a *stacked* bottom nine forwards, stalwart top 6 D and a great goaltending tandem.
What it takes is for one prospect to rise to a solid top three forward, and one blockbuster trade to stack our top three... the rest all falls into place from there.
Nostradamus selects the OTTAWA SENATORS as the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Champs!
Way better than that crap the Sun puts out where they just trade un-funny barbs at each other.
EDIT: Or if he gets traded to the same team as Hateley?
dumb question because neither team can afford to trade all their first borns for the service of the Almighty Alfie
Taylor Hall
Jordan Eberle
2012 1st
MPS
The only way I'd trade Alfredsson
Have a chance at a cup, didn't guarantee he'd get it. Within the next 3 seasons we should definitely be back in contention imo. Chicago won when their prospects were still developing, not sure why that wouldn't be possible here, especially since we already have a quality veteran presence.
That still would create 5 top 6 forwards. So if 1 of the other you don't predict to reach that status that fast actually does ... like Silverberg (expected here next season), Filatov or Da Costa ... then that's a worthy top 6 after only 2 more seasons. I'd say the chances are better than 50-50 that 1 of those 3 or Foligno can be a top 6 within 2-3 years. Will be interesting to see, but I do agree most prospects take a good 3-5 NHL seasons to show their true worth.
One way to help him play longer than 2 yrs is to lessen his ice time. Make it more quality time than quantity time.
Keep him off the penalty kill.
Saying trade him to a team to win a Cup... you don't know in Feb who is winning the Cup in June. Ray Bourque & Chris Kelly got lucky... plain & simple.
Hossa tried 3 different teams to win a Cup... he won it on his 3rd try.
Alfie stays. Let the young guys develop this year... that includes Cowen & Rundblad on the O-Sens. Pray there is no lockout next year with Fehr in charge... I think it's pretty much a given there will be some type of strike or lockout -- but hopefully not a season-ending one like the last one... That could end a lot of careers..
Toews and Kane far surpasses our FW talents we have now, you kidding me. Could you put the "C" on Butler or Greening?!?!
Those are the types of player we dont have in our system, immediate impact and top end skill.
Who says he would accept the demotion in ice time, could be a slap in the face.
There are no garantees to win the Cup but lets say Alfie in Vancouver has a MUCH better chance to win the Cup than staying here in Ottawa trying to stay above water. Do you not think Alfie is deserving of a Cup?
He has not said publicly that he would not accept a tade to Vancouver, playing with the Sedins would definitely rejuvenate his career. Just look at Selanne playing with Getzlaf and Perry.
You can't say that Butler and Greening don't deserve the 'C' and compare them to Toews or Kane. Either Toews or Kane could have floundered, but did't. Butler and Greening could explode. You don't know. Remember highly touted Daigle? He was a Toews of the day and he floundered.
Secondly, those two teams were rebuilding and required a new go-to guy... someone to build the franchise off of and get the fans excited in their teams... they did so with their top prospects.
We don't need to. We have Alfie and Spezza in the chamber.
pretty sure that Ryan is the one playing with Getzlaf and Perry... I agree that we're a little short on top line talent. I think that a top line RW is the key piece that we're missing. If we do end up in a tailspin next year (not convinced we will, but we should know by late November) then the prize might be Filip Forsberg.
Agree Tookie. Toews especially is an extremely talented player. We have Spezza who, some would disagree, is also a talented player.
Kane has the talent as well... it's his off-ice issues that would scare me bringing him onto a team... but that's just my opinion. He has to grow up.
Of course he wants to win a Cup... but he has also stated he does not want to leave. Of course Vancouver is closer to the Cup than Ottawa.. but NOTHING is guaranteed.
Alfie will do what is necessary to help the team. Keeping him off the penalty kill (at least most of the time) helps that.
As Spezza said if Alfie is hurt.. he does not help the team by playing. Get and try to keep him healthy is the key.
First off, if you think Daigle was a Toews, you are serioulsy lacking intelligence. Daigle was a prissy little bitch, Toews was mature beyond his years and lead his team as the Captain to a Stanley Cup in his 2nd year I believe. No comparison at all.
Secondly if you think Alfie is a go to guy, we are in big trouble, maybe 7 years ago yes, not anymore. All we have is Spezza and he cant do it alone, he aint Crosby or Ovechkin. We need another go to guy to go along with Spezza, as of right now, nobody fits that bill. The only high hope I have for our prospects is Noesen, but that is atleast 4-5 years down the road.
Unless we suck and get Yakupov or Galchenyuk next year or make a splash in FA or trade. Spezza is our only go to guy surrounded by 3rd liners.
How about Spezza? We don't need these prospects to be a #1C or captain, we already have 1. Not sure I get the comparison. I'm talking about having a worthy top 6, not the best top 3. In 2-4 years our team will be similar in overall skill and depth to what Chicago had when they won.
3rd liners lol, come on Tookie, even you know that's not true.
Toews is talented, don't get me wrong. But they had a strong team as well. It's not hard to captain a battleship into a war against tugboats.
Second. Alfies is a go-to guy, not because he puts up points... but because of his solid leadership. And as for back-up, another go to guy... I would argue hard for EK65. He is young, plenty of talent and something we can build on, although not a forward. If you are searching for a forward to build on... watch Butler this year.
Ok maybe a bit overboard, I mean to say, unproven players and in my opinion not really top 6 talent.
Filatov Spezza Butler
Two kids playing with a Vet, Filatov is a wildcard, it is unknown what he will do, Butler I could see notch 20+.
Michalek ??? Alfie
Michalek with his bum kness and an injury prone Alfie greatly diminish this top 6, plus we dont even know who will be 2C, Regin or Foligno....ouch.
I agree that within a year or two, players such as Silfverberg, Zibanejad, will join the team and hopefully improv that top 6 but it is unknown how they will do their first year. We cant expect too much.
I think we agree on several points. I just think that though the likelihood of 1 specific player reaching his NHL potential is low, the likelihood of 1 player out of 5 or more is a lot more probable if not definite, given what we know.
Hopefully Zibanejad and Silverberg are on the team next fall and then if Alfie comes back the year after it will be with a year already under their belt. Probably Alfie's only shot, if there is one at all. I used to think Alfie would retire after this coming season though, so it's all speculative based on him staying around beyond this contract.
Well Leclaire, Elliott & Campoli have been replaced.
Any of Butler, Greening, Condra, Smith, Filatov can replace what Kovalev & Ruutu provided.
So the players to really replace are Fisher & Kelly. Is there any young player on the Sens right now that can fill those shoes? The hole the Sens have right now is #2 centre.
If they can competently replace in house all the better.
Read on another site... that RUMOURS are some teams are looking to Ottawa to dump salary. Rumoured players... Lecavalier & Briere. I don't believe that for one moment.
Both have NTC and would not want to come to a re-building team. Lecavalier is signed to 2020 @ 7.7M cap hit. YIKES.. that's trouble. Briere is signed to 2015 @ 6.5M.
Discussion?
I do have hope for Butler but he is one of the few I have hopes for, you immediately saw Butler had scoring touch, he juat had that scoring touch. I see the same in Noesen. Just score baby!
Zibanejad is more of a power forward, Fisher 2.0, which is great but he aint rdy yet and Im not ecpecting him to explode his first year as 2C.
Filatov, Michalek, Foligno and Regin round out our top 6, can you seriously say we can contend with that top 6. I say no and maybe with Foligno, Regin and Michalek gone in a few years, maybe with Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Stone, Noesen I would say we are on the right track, but that aint for another 4-5 years.
I would say no, it wouldnt be the same if he won a ring as an assistant coach or consultant/scou t type person. In my opinion he still makes the HHOF but if he leads his team to a Cup win, it becomes a lock.
I would take either or, if the term was shorter. They would easily fill the 2C role better than we can internally. There is no doubt Briere or Lecavalier are proven top 6 players. Personally I would like Lecvalier, another huge C, our depth down the middle would be great. Spezza, Lecavalier, Zibanejad.
Aint gonna happen tho.
As for teams that have a better chance to win, there is no guarantee. Gone are the days of true dynasty teams, the parity in the league (as much as I hate the term parity) makes it too hard to judge. Some teams are built to excel in the regular season and blow it in the playoffs (Washington, SJ, Vancouver and even our beloved Sens. The list goes on). Then on the flip side, sometimes 8th seed teams come from behind to challenge and surprise us all, such as the 2006 Edmonton Oilers. That's the beauty of the NHL these days... you just never know.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, Alfie leaving for a cup may be more of a disappointment if the result is no cup.
Either player would immediately launch us towards playoff contention, but neither is worth their salary. Lecavalier really should just go to Montreal, where he's wanted and on a team that needs his skill set as a 1C more. If his salary was only for 3 more years I'd take it, but we can't afford to have him on the books at that salary in his twilight when EK, Zibanejad and others will need their 2nd and 3rd contracts. Briere would only make a bit of sense if they took Kuba back and still gave us more in terms of prospects or maybe Sergei Bobrovsky, which I doubt would happen. Hopefully the rumors are just rumors.
The Lightning are not in cap trouble. They have $4M+ in cap space currently and a number of players coming to the end of their deals after this season. I don't see them as being under pressure.
Briere is interesting and might flourish in a #2C role. That said, I'd sooner have Giroux, but I acknowledge that that is a pipe-dream.
http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=1196&id=121943
Yeah.. but it kills time once in a while.
Which site was it?
I second this...where did you see it?
Ottawa at #3 for top prospects.
- a gold medal and
- 4 kids.
The personal turmoil associated with changing teams cannot be understated. When / if he longs for glory, he'll open the box with his medal, glance at his family portrait then lace up his skates at SBP and work his ass off with a smile on his face simply because that's the kind of guy he is.
If Alfie is traded to a stacked team and they flounder...
Does that hurt his overall chances of being inducted into the HHoF? Does that affect his decision?
If he is traded to Vancouver, as was mentioned, would he really be playing with the Sedins? More likely he is given a Modano type role.
Possibly, ending his career in an early 1st round exit in two or three years to a heartfelt standing Ovation(should it end at home and our team progresses well) is a more meaningful carrer highlight. Than if he should end up in a a 3rd line roll on a team that loses in the 3rd round followed by compulsory applause as he skates into the sunset.As people were saying earlier, no guarantees on a cup victory retirement party. However, I'm guessing the standing ovation is already brewing inside us all. A hero's due reward.
This is where q's arise for me?!
In a rebuild many of the faces change in the room.Familiarit y is replaced by youthful exuberance.
Does our captain feel invigorated by new roles and responibilities ? or perhaps alienated by seeing the players he played with traded away like pawns in a thoughtless chess game?Ottawa fans are fairly fickle. Who's head hasn't been called for or who hasn't been speculated to be on the trading block. Even Alfie has not been exempt from this scrutiny.Surely , in most cases it's the turds of the Ottawa sports media(Garrioch Brennan here's looking at you) but eventually the young fan base cries out and players are thrown under the bus publicly.Here we speculate...O captain my captain might you fetch a nice prospect and a 1st...
Though, I doubt the opportunity to lead a new young group of men clad in the sweaters he gave meaning escapes a man of Alfie's competitive nature.Should the cup escape his grasp as a player. Consider it a case of a old warrior becomes king.When he retires to the office job he will still share in the spoils. This is his team.
The main goal is to win a Cup, nothing else. Its why they play the game. His chances of winning with the Sens in the next 2 years are slim to none, odds probably around 600:1. Going to a Cup contending team is somewhere around 40:1.
He wont go anywhere cuz Murray wont get good value for him but if a great offer comes I wouldnt be surprised to see him leave.
The Sens are rebuilding and need time to develop their young players, Alfie wont be around (playing) in 4-5 years when the team possibly pushes for a Cup. As for winning it as a staff member, its not the same, he didnt lead a Cup win.
Alfie is done in 2012-2013, I seriously doubt he will sign another contract. This is all depending how this upcoming season goes obviously. If its dreadful then he doesnt even finish his contract, making only 1 Million in 2012-2013, he would probably opt out with retirement, rather than go through a whole training camp and season for 1Mil.
IF it goes well, he plays out his 2012-13 season and retires after.
But does anyone know this happened during the lockout? Thanks to Wikipedia for the info below.
During the lockout, a movement arose to free the Stanley Cup from the NHL. By the original deed of Lord Stanley, the cup was a challenge cup open to the best amateur hockey team in Canada. Only since 1926 has it been exclusively competed for by NHL teams, and with the 2004-05 NHL season canceled, the group felt that the NHL had forfeited its right to award the Cup for the year. On February 7, 2006, a settlement was reached in which the trophy could be awarded to non-NHL teams should the league not operate for a season, although the NHL by that point was playing again.
I really cannot fathom either party being stupid enough to have another lockout for many many years. And yes I do realize how stunned both parties can be at times.
Let the current squad battle out who might be material for the first/second/th ird lines and then insert fresh competition again next year.
I didn't see the tweet - did it say he is definitely staying in Sweden?
Yes, even Silfverberg mentioned this months ago during the Dev camp. This isnt new.
Sens aren't done getting high end draft picks. There is a very good chance we end up with a lottery pick next year and if you believe in Karma then next year we'll be moving up instead of down.
Who says we don't draft yakupov, forsberg or another high end talent...
Not saying we will win the cup but by the time the draft is done next year, Sens will arguably have the best stable of prospects in the NHL.
If Edmonton wins the draft lottery again, I'll shit a brick!
I commented on that yesterday. There are some 'disliked' individuals that post on here, however, they do post valid comments, opinions etc. and yet they are receiving negatives. I believe you are right that there are lurkers looking for nothing better to do then give a thumbs down. To you Leaf fans... find something better to do with your time would ya?
If you shit a brick... then anything is possible and Edmonton could very well get the pick again...
Pierre Dorion was on 1200 this morning and even he confirmed Silfverberg was not playing in the NHL this year and made a comment about being disappointed. He said that Silfverberg doesn't believe he's ready yet, while everyone else in the org thinks he is. So it's clearly his decision to compete in the SEL for 1 more year before coming over.
Sensay
FEHR -- to get what he wants -- he won't think twice about a strike. He plays hardball. That's what scares me.
How he plays, how the team plays.
Everyone thinks we are not going to cup contend the next few years, bullshit, lets at least give them a chance to prove they suck or not before we condem them.