Daniel Alfredsson pulls no punches in Ottawa presser

When former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson finally spoke to media in the nation’s capital this morning, he didn’t throw the Sens management under the bus. But he didn’t take any blame for leaving the team either.

In the end, it played out just as we all expected. Alfredsson had helped the team out with his contract before and hoped Sens management would return the favor when his contract expired. The problem seemed to be Ottawa didn’t want to pay Alfredsson what he thought – and at least a handful of other teams thought – he was worth.

In the end, it was about feeling wanted and appreciated. The Senators may have expected Alfie to take less than market value to finish his career in an Ottawa jersey. Now, Alfredsson won’t say he felt slighted, but you could read between the lines during the press conference.

He talked about how Detroit made him feel wanted and about playing on a team he knows well with some of his best friends. He talked about feeling excited and nervous about the new adventure. He talked about the respect he still has for Bryan Murray and the Ottawa Senators and the community he says he will still consider home. He talked about how his departure might actually help the Senators’ young players develop faster, filling his void in the lineup. He handled this awkward press conference as well as anyone could have expected with the same poise, eloquence and humor that Senators supporters have grown to love over the years.

But make no mistake about it, Alfredsson had his feelings hurt during this process.

The bottom line is after 17 years with the Senators, 14 as the team’s captain, Alfredsson signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings worth $5.5 million on July 5. After that Murray said he “did everything he could” to sign Alfredsson and it “wasn’t a financial thing” but that’s neither here nor there at this point.

Now, the Senators and Alfredsson have to move on in different directions, for better or worse.