The Ottawa Senators have announced that they will retire Daniel Alfredsson’s sweater December 29th.
The moment that Daniel Alfredsson retired, everyone started waiting for the Ottawa Senators to officially retire his number 11. Since he left the Senators to play for the Detroit Red Wings in 2013, no one on the Senators has worn his number. The Senators will retire his number on December 29th against the Buffalo Sabres.
“Daniel is an iconic figure in the history of our franchise,” said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, via NHL.com. “We are very excited to announce that the Senators Player Honouring Committee has unanimously decided that as we embark on the Ottawa Senators 25th season in the NHL, this would be the perfect time to have Daniel’s number 11 raised to the rafters of Canadian Tire Centre.”
Alfredsson is just the second Senators player to have his number honored, the first being Frank Arthur Finnegan’s number eight. Daniel currently serves as an advisor to the General Manager in the Senators’ front office. He is their all-time leader in goals, assists, points, even strength goals, power play goals, short-handed goals, and game winning goals. Alfredsson served as their captain from 1999 to his departure in 2013.
With 444 goals, Alfredsson ranks 62nd all-time. His 713 assists are 49th among all players. Alfredsson ranks 51st with 1,157 career points. His 1,261 adjusted points puts him in the top 30. Alfredsson was a consistent offensive force when offensive was rare. He will one day join the Hockey Hall of Fame as one of the greatest players to ever play the game of hockey.
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Alfredsson was drafted in the sixth round of the 1994 NHL Draft by the Senators. He quickly made an impact, winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season (1995-96). Alfredsson also won the King Clancy Trophy during the 2011-12 season for his humanitarian and off the ice efforts.