NHL Rumors: Red Wings want Daniel Alfredsson back next season
By Josh Hill
The Detroit Red Wings managed to make it to the Eastern Conference Playoffs in 2014 but they didn’t make it very far, which is something the team will be looking to change for next season. As much of a hockey institution the Red Wings have been for the last couple of decades, they nearly missed the playoffs altogether this past season which has many wondering if their window has closed.
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One player the Red Wings are looking at to see is his career window has closed is veteran Daniel Alfredsson. After leaving the Ottawa Senators last summer to join the Red Wings, Alfredsson’s age showed in the worst of ways last season and it’s looking like he may call it a career.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Red Wings are very much interested in seeing Alfredsson return for the 2014-15 season but the veteran remains undecided about his NHL future.
"Regarding Alfredsson, the Wings are waiting to hear whether the 41-year-old right wing wants to play another season. If he does, the Wings are interested in working out another contract. Alfredsson, who joined Detroit last summer after 17 seasons with the Ottawa Senators, contributed 18 goals among 49 points over 68 games and provided leadership."
Just as the New York Yankees used to and the Miami Heat seem to be doing now, the Wings assemble veteran talent using the attraction of making a Stanley Cup run as a selling point to bring in talent. Detroit has long been the place veterans flock to in order to make one last run at a Cup but recently better options in Pittsburgh, Boston and Chicago have begun to challenge the Red Wings allure.
Alfredsson is far more likely to retire this summer than move on to another team, but we can’t count that out as a possibility until Alfredsson himself does. He may have some hockey left in him and we can never discount the type of drive a veteran chasing a Stanley Cup has, even at Alfredsson’s age.