The craze of Puckdoku has everyone looking up NHLers (former and present alike) to see what teams they played for throughout their career. Some have decades with one team, while others have bounced around logging upwards of 12 (in the case of Mike Sillinger) on their hockey cards. Let’s get started with Daniel Alfredsson, who spent all of his career with the Ottawa Senators; except for his final season in the NHL in 2013-14 when he played 68 games for the Detroit Red Wings.
Daniel Alfredsson MSC (pronounced [ˈdɑ̂ːnɪɛl ˈâlfrɛdˌsɔn]; born 11 December 1972), nicknamed "Alfie", is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey player and assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators. He spent 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily with the Senators. Alfredsson was captain of the Senators, serving from 1999 to 2013.
With the Senators, Alfredsson usually played on the first line, which was formerly nicknamed the "CASH" or "Pizza" line with centre Jason Spezza and left winger Dany Heatley, before Heatley's trade to the San Jose Sharks. He had traditionally been the fourth forward on the ice in the role of pointman on Ottawa's power play unit. One of the league's top two-way players, he holds the Senators' franchise records for goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108) with 1,178 games played. He had played for Sweden internationally 14 times, including the 2006 gold medal and 2014 silver medal-winning Olympic teams.
Alfredsson’s legacy will always be with the Senators, but it was cool to see him play with a bunch of his fellow countrymen in Detroit for his final season in the NHL.
Daniel Alfredsson during his time with the Detroit Red Wings. Source: NHL.com
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Early Career and Draft
Drafted 133rd overall in the sixth round of the 1994 NHL entry draft, Alfredsson was a serendipitous pick by the Ottawa Senators. He had been overlooked by many NHL scouts, but one man in Ottawa's front office, John Ferguson, saw the potential and pushed management for his selection.
Though largely unheralded entering his first NHL training camp, he would go on to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in his first NHL season in 1995-96 and was the Senators' representative at the 1996 NHL All-Star Game. In 1996-97, he improved on his rookie totals and played in the All-Star Game again.
Contract Disputes and Team Leadership
Alfredsson missed the beginning of the 1997-98 season due to a contract dispute. On 24 August 1997, he demanded a trade from the Senators after the five-year contract offered to him was worth $1 million less annually than that teammate Alexei Yashin received per season. Alfredsson eventually signed a new contract on 12 October worth $14 million over four years.
After missing the first five games of the season, he was greeted by a standing ovation in his first game back in Ottawa. Alfredsson would later be named the Senators' representative at the All-Star Game for the third consecutive season. During that season, Alfredsson would play in only 55 games, due to the earlier contract dispute and a late season ankle injury. In the 1998-99 season, Alfredsson missed 24 games due to an injury and was limited to only 11 goals.
The next season, he was named captain of the Senators after Alexei Yashin was stripped of the captaincy for refusing to honour his contract. After two somewhat disappointing seasons, Alfredsson's scoring totals improved, with 21 goals and 59 points in 57 games.
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Key Seasons and Achievements
In 2001-02, Alfredsson set a personal best with 37 goals and 71 points in 78 games. Alfredsson signed a new two-year contract prior to the 2002-03 season. He increased his scoring totals, finishing with 27 goals and 78 points. The club won the Presidents' Trophy that season as the NHL's top regular season team, despite the organization filing for bankruptcy protection, and qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils. In 2003-04, Alfredsson finished the season with 32 goals and 80 points in 78 games.
On 5 October 2005, the opening night of the 2005-06 NHL season, the Senators played the Maple Leafs, with the newly acquired Dany Heatley playing on the top line with Jason Spezza and Brandon Bochenski. The Senators were down by a goal with five minutes remaining in the third period, when Alfredsson, replacing Bochenski on the top line, scored the tying goal. This line combination would remain intact and became known as the "CASH line". With Alfredsson scoring in the shootout, he became the first captain in the NHL history to do so. Alfredsson capped off the 2005-06 regular season with a career-high 103 points (43 goals and 60 assists) tied for first on the Senators alongside Heatley.
Perhaps the best game of his NHL career took place on 3 November 2005 against the longtime rival Buffalo Sabres, in which he scored a then career-high four goals and six points.
The Greatest Moments of Daniel Alfredsson's NHL Career
In the 2007 playoffs, Alfredsson was the Senators' leading scorer with 14 goals and 22 points in 20 games. His leadership and strong play helped the Senators as they advanced past the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres, to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in modern franchise history. He became the first European-born-and-raised captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup finals.
Later Years with Ottawa and the Red Wings Stint
On 30 October 2008, Alfredsson signed a new four-year contract with Ottawa worth US$21.6 million. On 6 April, Alfredsson reached an important milestone, playing in his 1,000th regular season NHL game.
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Alfredsson began the 2011-12 season healthy, but was diagnosed with a concussion for the first time in his career after receiving a blow to the head from New York Rangers forward Wojtek Wolski on 29 October 2011. On 30 December 2011, against the Calgary Flames, Alfredsson scored his 400th career goal, the game winner in overtime.
On 5 July 2013, after 17 seasons with the Senators, Alfredsson signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. A contract dispute with then-general manager Bryan Murray ultimately led to the signing and a reunion with several Team Sweden teammates Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Mikael Samuelsson, and Niklas Kronwall.
Alfredsson signed a one-year deal with the Red Wings in pursuit of his first Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, they got eliminated in the first round by the Boston Bruins and Alfredsson retired from the NHL in the offseason.
It was the lowest average ice time he saw in his career, but surprisingly led the Red Wings in points with 49 and was third in goals with 18. He wore an “A” for the first time since 1998-99, but embraced his role as an alternate captain with grace and humility.
The Red Wings made the playoffs for the 23rd straight time that season when they faced off against the Bruins in the first round. Alfredsson and his team couldn’t get going, however, and eventually fell 4-1 in the series with Alfredsson recording zero points in three games.
International Career
The success didn’t stop in the NHL for Alfredsson. He also had a storied career for Team Sweden at the World Juniors, World Championship, World Cup and the Olympics. All in all, he collected six medals at the international level culminating in a gold medal at the 2006 Olympics where he had five goals and 10 points in eight games. He also captained the 2012 team at the World Championship.
Daniel Alfredsson representing Team Sweden at the Olympics. Source: SB Nation
At the 2006 Olympics, Alfredsson set personal highs in goals (5), assists (5) and points (10) and played on the second line with Mats Sundin and Henrik Zetterberg. After an injury to Peter Forsberg, Alfredsson took Forsberg's spot as the alternate captain, along with Captain Sundin and defenseman Nicklas Lidström.
Retirement and Legacy
After announcing his retirement in 2014 and signing a one-day contract to officially retire as a Senator, Alfredsson was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside fellow Swedes Daniel and Henrik Sedin in 2022. His No. 11 jersey was also retired by the Senators on Dec. 29, 2016.
Alfredsson stayed out of the hockey spotlight for only a season before accepting a job with the Senators as a senior advisor to the general manager before the 2015-16 season. He remained in that role until 2017-18 and then started coaching youth hockey with the Ottawa Sting’s U14 and U15 AA and B teams.
He rejoined the Senators organization before the 2023-24 season as a development coach and was recently promoted to the position of assistant coach alongside interim head coach Jacques Martin.
By the end of his career, Alfredsson had 444 goals and 1,157 points and sits 68th on the all-time goals list. He also holds several franchise records, including goals (426), assists (682), points (1,108), power play goals (131), shorthanded goals (25), hat tricks (10), and game-winning goals (69). Pick a category, and he probably leads the franchise in it.
Alfredsson also was part of one of the best lines in Senators history in the “Pizza Line” or “Cash Line” which included him, Spezza and Heatley. The line was at its best in the 2005-06 season when Alfredsson scored a career-high 43 goals and 103 points and Dany Heatley potted 50 goals. The following season, the trio led the Senators to the Stanley Cup Final against the Anaheim Ducks, but despite Alfredsson's best efforts and playoff-leading 14 goals, they lost the series in five games.
Alfredsson never got back to the Stanley Cup Final after that season and only made it to the playoffs four more times before he joined Detroit in 2013-14.
A common and valid criticism of some HHOFers is that their greatest heights were only “very good” and not truly great. Anecdotally, Daniel Alfredsson may feel like that player. The data, however, shows it’s just not the case. A late bloomer, Alfie debuted in his age-23 season, earning the Calder. He did not crack the league’s top 30 forwards until the ranking period covering ages 27-29 of his career.
Alfredsson reached #4 in the NHL at the end of 2006-07, trailing only teammate Dany Heatley (not a typo!), Jaromir Jagr, and Joe Thornton. In all, Alfredsson would spend eight straight seasons in the league’s top 20 forwards through his age-37 season, with a lost lockout season amidst this impressive run.
With a PPS of 276, Alfredsson finds himself beyond that comfort zone, exceeding the standard by +41 under PPS. This indicates the respected Swede was undoubtedly one of the best forwards sitting outside the Hall’s plaque room at the time of his election.
By staying healthy and consistent for 15.6 Adjusted Seasons, Alfredsson scores well on each of the main three factors of PPS - Career (84), Pace (81), and Peak (102). Those marks rank 30th, 46th, and 43rd among every forward with a career principally after the 1967 expansion. This is a very balanced case, with no dependency on playing extremely long, dominating short-term, or relying on large PPS bonuses to bolster his candidacy.
A victim of lower offensive times historically, Alfredsson’s solid career totals rise by 48 goals (to 492, near the hallowed 500-goal mark) and 104 points when adjusted for era.
Personal Life
Alfredsson married long-time girlfriend Birgitta (née Backman) on 31 July 2004. They are the parents of four sons. The family resides in Ottawa and Särö, Sweden.
On 5 March 2015, Alfredsson was presented with the key to the city by Ottawa Deputy Mayor Bob Monette.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 26 | 35 | 61 |
| 1996-97 | Ottawa Senators | 77 | 32 | 39 | 71 |
| 1997-98 | Ottawa Senators | 55 | 19 | 26 | 45 |
| 1998-99 | Ottawa Senators | 58 | 11 | 23 | 34 |
| 1999-00 | Ottawa Senators | 73 | 22 | 37 | 59 |
| 2000-01 | Ottawa Senators | 68 | 24 | 46 | 70 |
| 2001-02 | Ottawa Senators | 78 | 37 | 34 | 71 |
| 2002-03 | Ottawa Senators | 77 | 27 | 51 | 78 |
| 2003-04 | Ottawa Senators | 78 | 32 | 48 | 80 |
| 2005-06 | Ottawa Senators | 77 | 43 | 60 | 103 |
| 2006-07 | Ottawa Senators | 77 | 29 | 58 | 87 |
| 2007-08 | Ottawa Senators | 70 | 29 | 43 | 72 |
| 2008-09 | Ottawa Senators | 79 | 24 | 50 | 74 |
| 2009-10 | Ottawa Senators | 70 | 20 | 51 | 71 |
| 2010-11 | Ottawa Senators | 54 | 14 | 17 | 31 |
| 2011-12 | Ottawa Senators | 75 | 27 | 32 | 59 |
| 2012-13 | Ottawa Senators | 47 | 10 | 16 | 26 |
| 2013-14 | Detroit Red Wings | 68 | 18 | 31 | 49 |
| Total | 1246 | 444 | 713 | 1157 | |
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