Daniel Alfredsson an Inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame
From a sixth-round pick out of Gothenburg, Sweden to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In an absolutely incredible piece of news this afternoon, Daniel Alfredsson was named as one of six inductees that form the 2022 class that will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Alongside the Swedish twins, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Alfredsson will be enshrined with Roberto Luongo, Herb Carnegie (builder’s category) and women’s hockey legend Riikka Sallinen.
Here is the call Lanny McDonald and Mike Gartner made to Alfredsson to let him know the news:
Alfie had been eligible for induction since 2017, but the honour has escaped him these last few years.
Alfredsson’s NHL career spanned 1,246 games and produced 444 goals and 1,157 points. When adjusted for era, his numbers put him in really elite company that merited recognition. After adjusting for era, of the Hockey Hall of Fame eligibles, only Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick were projected to have scored more goals and no one put up more projected points than Alfredsson.
He was one of the most productive players of his era, but also one of the most productive Swedish-born players to play in the league. Internationally, his accomplishments are renowned. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2018 and represented Sweden 14 times in various competitions. He was an Olympic gold and silver medallist and won four medals at the World Championships.
Great players have been inducted ahead of Alfredsson these last few years, but after a few debatable choices were made at his expense, it was easy to wonder when — or even if — the time would come for the greatest player in Senators franchise history to be inducted.
One of the things that I felt always worked against Alfredsson was the lack of lobbying on his behalf. After being snubbed last year, I wrote that the organization and the media, in my opinion, did not do enough to “amplify the merits of Alfredsson’s career.” I maintained that Alfredsson needed the sort of grassroots movement that Tim Raines received before he was finally enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017.
Having writers with large platforms like Elliotte Friedman and Ian Mendes come forward and advocate on Alfie’s behalf was huge, but in a community that has a reputation for being polite and reserved, the work done by Corey Meehan, Stephen MacDonald, Cyril Leeder and Craig Medaglia on the Twitter platform @AlfieToTheHall did a fantastic job to promote the career of the longtime Senators captain.
Not only did it help promote the initiative, but it was also piggybacked and promoted by the Senators. After years of ignoring their captain, inroads have been made and work is being done to repair a relationship that was damaged by the owner.
You cannot understate the importance of this development and what it means to help reinvigorate the brand and re-establish consumer confidence in this market.
On the heels of the LeBreton Flats redevelopment news and the swell of optimism that has followed, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter. If it culminates with Alfie rejoining the front office, even better. This is the kind of wave of optimism that the organization needs to take advantage of.
With more appointments to the front office, some shrewd trades and free-agent signings, the organization could reap the benefits of a really strong offseason.
What a beautiful day for the player, the organization and its fans.
Bravo! They never won a Cup, but provided great hockey for many years, I was fortunate to attend some games during my years living in Ottawa. 99-07.