The Ottawa Senators made their “significant hockey announcement” on Tuesday. The team announced that they’ll be retiring Daniel Alfredsson’s number 11 prior to their home game against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 29.
There’s no doubt that Alfredsson is fully deserving of this honor. He’s the Sens all-time leading goalscorer with 426 goals (no other player has more than 251 goals) and he’s also the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1108 points, which is 421 points clear of second place.
“Daniel is an iconic figure in the history of our franchise,” owner and CEO Eugene Melnyk said in a release. “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 Center.”
Alfredsson captained the Senators from 1999-2000 through 2012-13. He also helped get them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007.
He’ll become the first modern-day Senator to have his jersey retired and just the second player in franchise history. Frank Arthur Finnigan’s number 8 has already been retired by the club.
Finnigan played 10 years with the Sens starting in 1923 and he was an integral part of bringing the team back in 1992.