Daniel Alfredsson may be returning to the scene of the crime.
The former Senators captain is close to being hired by the team for a role in the hockey operations department, according to TSN’s Ian Mendes.
Alfredsson spent 1,178 of his 1,246 NHL games playing for the Senators, doing a single dance with the Detroit Red Wings after a difficult negotiation in the summer of 2013 that ended with him leaving Canada’s capital for the first time since being drafted in the 6th round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.
Between this reported role and an emotional tribute to Alfredsson in Ottawa when he announced his retirement in December of 2014, the two sides have clearly tamped down any hard feelings from the 2013 negotiation.
It’d be hard to imagine Alfredsson working for any other team. (Though it happens. Hello Martin Brodeur.) Alfie is the franchise’s all-time leader in goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108). He also captained the team longer than anyone else, wearing the C for 13 seasons.
Mendes reports that there is expected to be an announcement of what his role will be within the organization some time before training camp kicks off next month. Alfredsson’s first season with the Sens will coincide with current GM Bryan Murray’s final, as Murray announced previously.