Daniel Alfredsson is coming home.
After the ugly of summer of 2013, an unsuccessful run at a Cup in Detroit, and a back injury that ended his hopes of playing one last season- Daniel Alfredsson is coming home.
On December 4th, Daniel Alfredsson will be in Ottawa to announce his retirement from the National Hockey League. 1,246 games and 1,147 points. Another 124 games in the playoffs, 121 of those in an Ottawa Senators uniform. He’ll get consideration for the Hockey Hall of Fame. He’s a legend in this city and without a doubt, the greatest player in the history of this organization.
I don’t know exactly what they have planned for December 4th but the idea of a one day contract seems to be gaining a lot of traction. I also know that the game against the Islanders is going to be an extremely special one. You’ll certainly want to make sure you’re in your seat well before puck drop.
What they won’t be doing that night but certainly will someday, is a number retirement.
Now that the fences have been mended, there’s no doubt that one day, Alfie’s famous number 11 will hang from the rafters of the Canadian Tire Centre. A SensChirp reader wrote to me this week with three proposals for that banner. I hadn’t given it a lot of thought beforehand but because this will be the first number of a modern-day Senator to hang from the rafters at the CTC, the design is going to be pretty important.
He’s put together three distinct options.
A few words from the designer…
“The leftmost white option was worn the most during his career and all of his major accomplishments (Calder Trophy, first playoffs, first playoff series victory and Stanley Cup Final in 2007) were in this jersey. Easily, my favorite option for what should be raised.
The middle red option was what he last wore before he left town. It is what the team (regrettably) still wears and it is what he scored his 400th career goal in, as well as scoring his final goal in a Sens uniform in Game 3 vs PIT in 2013 ESF.
The rightmost black (heritage) option was the final “new” uniform that he modeled for the team. He only wore this a hand full of times in his final two seasons. If the Sens decide to go with the heritage look full time as part of their branding in the near future (more and more fans are asking of this on social media platforms), it would make sense that Alfie be immortalized in the new branding style for other teammates to follow. Soon, they can add Phillips and even Neil to that list.
I have always admired how Montreal, Detroit and New Jersey have stuck with a consistent look over the years. Their retired banners reflect that and there is a unison between the eras of teams. Unlike Buffalo’s current issue with raising Hasek’s number (do we have the blue/gold or the black/red raised?), Ottawa has stuck to the same color scheme over the years thankfully, but the jerseys have changed. Alfie will be the first modern era Senator to be raised to the rafters. With him, will also begin the design style that subsequent players will follow throughout the team’s history. One day Karlsson and Lazar may be up there too. The team needs to decide how this will be represented both for now and the years to come.”
There are obvious qualities to each of them and he’s done a great job with the design. Vote in the poll at the bottom of the post to select your favourite.
More coming in a little bit.
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