Daniel Alfredsson

Daniel Alfredsson
Born	(1972-12-11) December 11, 1972 Gothenburg, SWE
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team	Ottawa Senators
NHL draft	133rd overall, 1994 Ottawa Senators
Playing career	1992–present

Daniel Alfredsson (born 11 December 1972, Gothenburg, Sweden) is a professional Swedish ice hockey player. He is the Captain of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. He currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Särö, Sweden. A right winger with the Senators, Alfredsson usually plays on the first line (nicknamed the 'CASH' line) with centre Jason Spezza and left winger Dany Heatley.

Playing career

Drafted 133rd overall in the 6th round in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Alfredsson was a remarkable find by the Senators. In his first season in the NHL in 1995-96 he won the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year and has consistently been one of the league's better players. Known as a high scorer with grit and leadership abilities he was made captain of the team in 1999-2000 when Alexei Yashin refused to play. Alfredsson continued as captain the following season 2000-01, when Yashin was denied the captaincy upon returning to the lineup.

He signed a two-year contract in 2002. In March of 2004, Alfredsson signed a contract extension with the Ottawa Senators for an additional five years. That following season, the Senators won the President's Trophy, with Alfredsson's career high 78 points at his eight-year span playing in the NHL. Ottawa played a great season with a superior playoff run, eventually losing in the Eastern conference finals in a tight and low-scoring seven game series against the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the New Jersey Devils.

During the NHL lockout he played for Frölunda HC in Sweden and, with his linemates P. J. Axelsson and Samuel Påhlsson, won the Swedish Championship.

On October 5, 2005, opening night for the 2005-06 NHL season, playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 5, 2005, Dany Heatley was playing with Jason Spezza and Brandon Bochenski on the top line, but when the Senators were down with five minutes to go, Alfredsson replaced Bochenski, scored the tying goal and the 'CASH line' was born. Later in that game, Heatley and Alfredsson became the first players to score goals in an NHL shootout when they scored against Leafs goalie Ed Belfour for a 3-2 overtime victory. Their sticks were subsequently sent to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Alfredsson capped off the 2005-06 regular season with career highs such as points (103), tied for first on the Senators with Heatley. Perhaps his best game was on November 3, 2005 against the Buffalo Sabres where he scored a then career-high 2 goals and 5 points. He has since surpassed this high, scoring 3 goals and recording 4 assists in an 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 4, 2008.

Alfredsson was named to Team Sweden as an alternate captain for the 2006 Winter Olympics due to Peter Forsberg's nagging leg injury. The team would go on to win the gold medal, along with Alfredsson's other International achievement.

After a sub-par 2006 playoffs, he was the subject of trade rumors from the beginning of the 2006-2007 season, fortunately turning around his game and enjoying a 6-game scoring streak soon after. On Saturday, December 23, 2006, against the Philadelphia Flyers, he notched his 600th career point, scoring on an empty net and adding another goal and an assist to top it off.

2007 Stanley Cup run

Through the years, many speculative critics had claimed Alfredsson has never played his best hockey in the playoffs. However, in the 2007 playoffs, Alfredsson raised his play more effectively than in any previous year. He greatly helped the Senators as they advanced past the Pittsburgh Penguins and took revenge on the New Jersey Devils. His improved play also helped the Senators advance to the Stanley Cup championship for the first time in modern franchise history. In game five of the Eastern Conference final against the Buffalo Sabres, he put the critics to rest when he scored in overtime after entering the zone on a 1-on-3 rush. This was Alfredsson's playoff-leading tenth goal and he became the first European-born captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In game four against the Anaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cup final, Alfredsson took criticism for hitting the Ducks' captain, Scott Niedermayer, with a slapshot. Alfredsson initially faked the shot in the final seconds prior to the intermission, leading to speculation if it was Alfredsson's intent to injure the player. Alfredsson responded to the controversy by stating he had glanced up at the clock to see if he had time to move in for a better shot. After the shot, fights between both teams broke out.

Awards

• 1996 — NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1996 — Calder Memorial Trophy
• 1996 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1997 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1998 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 2004 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 2004-05 — Elitserien Championship
• 2005-06 — Second Team All-Star [1]
• 2008 - Starter to NHL All-Star Game

Records and achievements

Milestones

• Is the Senators all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points.
• Holds the Senators record for highest +/- rating in a season, set in 2006-07 with +42.
• Holds the Senators record for most points in a regular season game, set in 2007-08 with 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points.
• Holds the following Senators playoff records: most games played (he has played in all 99 playoff games of the modern Senators), goals, assists and points.
• Set the Senators record for most goals in a playoff run with 14 in the 2006-07 playoffs. He also led the league in goals during the 2006-07 playoffs and tied line mates Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley with 22 points to lead the league in playoff scoring.
• November 10, 2007 - Scored the 300th goal of his career.
• January 24, 2008 - Scored the 500th assist of his career. Alfredsson also set a team record for the most points in a regular season game with 7 (3 goals, 4 assists).

Awards

• Won the first major award in modern Senators history when he was awarded the Calder trophy in 1995-96.

Nominations

• Finished 4th in Selke Trophy voting as the best defensive forward in 2005-06.
• Finished 4th in Lady Byng Memorial Trophy voting as the NHL's most gentlemanly player in 2005-06.
• Finished 2nd in Lady Byng Memorial Trophy voting in 2003-04.

Other

• Is the third European captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup Finals, first in modern NHL history. Johnny Gottlieb and Chuck Gardiner of the Chicago Blackhawks have previously achieved this feat.
• Improved his point totals for six consecutive seasons from 1998-99 to 2005-06 inclusive, a franchise record.

Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992-93	Frölunda HC	SEL		21	1	5	6	8		--	--	--	--	--
1993-94	Frölunda HC	SEL		39	20	10	30	18		4	1	1	2	8
1994-95	Frölunda HC	SEL		22	7	11	18	22		--	--	--	--	--
1995-96	Ottawa Senators	NHL		82	26	35	61	28		--	--	--	--	--
1996-97	Ottawa Senators	NHL		76	24	47	71	30		7	5	2	7	6
1997-98	Ottawa Senators	NHL		55	17	28	45	18		11	7	2	9	20
1998-99	Ottawa Senators	NHL		58	11	22	33	14		4	1	2	3	4
1999-00	Ottawa Senators	NHL		57	21	38	59	28		6	3	1	4	2
2000-01	Ottawa Senators	NHL		68	24	46	70	30		4	1	0	1	2
2001-02	Ottawa Senators	NHL		78	37	34	71	45		12	7	6	13	4
2002-03	Ottawa Senators	NHL		78	27	51	78	42		18	4	4	8	12
2003-04	Ottawa Senators	NHL		77	32	48	80	24		7	1	2	3	2
2004-05	Frölunda HC	SEL		15	8	9	17	10		14	12	6	18	8
2005-06	Ottawa Senators	NHL		77	43	60	103	50		10	2	8	10	4
2006-07	Ottawa Senators	NHL		77	29	58	87	42		20	14	8	22	10
SEL Totals				97	36	35	71	58		18	13	7	20	16
NHL Totals				783	291	467	758	351		99	43	37	80	66

International play

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
World Championships
	2001 Cologne/Hannover	Ice hockey
	2004 Prague	Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	1995 Stockholm	Ice hockey
	1999 Oslo/Hammar	Ice hockey
Olympic Games
	2006 Turin	Ice hockey

Participated in 10 Sweden international teams:

• 1995 World Championships (silver medal)
• 1996 World Championships
• 1996 World Cup of Hockey
• 1998 Winter Olympics
• 1999 World Championships (bronze medal)
• 2001 World Championships (bronze medal)
• 2002 Winter Olympics
• 2004 World Championships (silver medal)
• 2004 World Cup of Hockey
• 2006 Winter Olympics (alternate captain, gold medal)

In the 2006 tournament, he set 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 Sundin and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.

International statistics

		Tournament
Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995 World Championships		8	3	1	4	4
1996 World Cup of Hockey		4	0	0	0	2
1996 World Championships		6	1	2	3	4
1997 World Championships		4	0	0	0	2
1998 Olympics		4	2	3	5	2
1999 World Championships		10	4	5	9	8
2001 World Championships		9	3	5	8	8
2002 Olympics		4	1	4	5	2
2004 World Cup of Hockey		4	0	6	6	2
2004 World Championships		8	4	2	6	8
2005 World Championships		9	3	6	9	6
2006 Olympics		8	5	5	10	2
Olympic Totals		16	8	12	20	6
World Championship Totals		54	18	22	40	40

See also

• Current NHL Players
• List of Swedes in sports
• List of NHL seasons

External links

• Daniel Alfredsson career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Daniel Alfredsson in nhlfinns.com
• Ottawa Senators.com - Career Notes
• Q & A with Alfredsson (2000)

References & Notes

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