So long Alfie... What's next?

Which makes his move even more puzzling. Imagine this line up

Michalek - Spezza - Ryan
Zbad - Turris - Alfie
Greening - Pageau - MacArthur
Kassian - Smith - Neil

Karlsson - Methot
Cowen - Boyle?
Gryba - Phillips

Anderson
Lehner

Isn't that better than Detroit?

He's seen some pretty good lineups in Ottawa fail to win the Cup.

I think after 18 years he just decided it's not going to happen here, especially if the team is on an "internal budget". Teams with budgets don't win Cups in his eyes I think.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Which makes his move even more puzzling.  Imagine this line up

Michalek - Spezza - Ryan
Zbad - Turris - Alfie
Greening - Pageau - MacArthur
Kassian - Smith - Neil

Karlsson - Methot
Cowen - Boyle?
Gryba - Phillips

Anderson
Lehner

Isn't that better than Detroit?

Take Alfie out and it's still better than Detroits.

Hoags wrote:He's seen some pretty good lineups in Ottawa fail to win the Cup.  

I think after 18 years he just decided it's not going to happen here, especially if the team is on an "internal budget".  Teams with budgets don't win Cups in his eyes I think.

Internal budget mean zero right now. Not with a team that has Spezza, Ryan, Turris, Zibanejad, Greening, Condra, Methot, Karlsson, Phillips, Cowen, Anderson, Michalek.

I mean...internal budget, what more do you want? Another D-man, so another 5 million tops.

SpezDispenser wrote:
I mean...internal budget, what more do you want?  Another D-man, so another 5 million tops.

And the team's budget doesn't allow for a 5 million D-man.  No coincidence they traded for Ryan after Alfie was gone.

We can afford Blum and that is it.

SpezDispenser wrote:The way I feel, the more I think about it, is that he's bailing on us and has somehow lost faith in our ability to win.  That's the slap in the face to me that hurts the most.  Signing with a 'contender' doesn't really hold water for me either to be honest, I feel that if we can make the playoffs, we can win - and he of all people should feel and know the same.

Just keep wondering how he could turn his back on everything he's accomplished here and accomplished throughout his career without fighting a little harder.   Maybe personally calling Murray and saying that he wants this amount of $$ and that he'll put him in charge of getting it - and I would have given them a good week to do it, but instead he looks like a quitter right now - and I feel, as a fan, like I've been slighted by the guy I've learned to trust and believe in.

I feel very, very cheated by Alfie today.  

But then, I'm very excited at the direction of this team, even moreso now that we have a filthy sniper again.

I get you man, I really do. but the thing that sticks to me is the thing that was mentioned about him needing something else to keep that drive, he needed a change of scenery, maybe he still felt like playing hockey but didn't feel it so much in the situation. think about it as a job, the need for new challenges, refreshing things up. I'm not sure he saw ottawa as not being contenders but maybe in his eyes our window was starting to open up with all the young dudes and with Detroit he saw a team that gave the hawks a real run for their money and he thinks he can be that aextra sparks to give them an extra cup. Detroit won't be the same team next year if you ask me. but when it comes down to it maybe it began to be retirement or play elsewhere. it's his life, not ours.

the thing that irks me is this new thing with FA where other teams are allowed to talk to players and their agents. this idea of leaving only came along 4 days ago when he began fielding calls, you have to think someone ingrained the idea in him. in the traditional way it had been done, he'd been resigned by then. this is a big fail if you ask me in how things are done. players are gonna have to decide to play and sign contracts way before the start of FA. we got Cussed by this new change if you ask me

I am just realizing that I've already moved on from this.
I am happy to be a Sens fan and not a "players" fan like a lot of people around town cancelling their season tickets etc.
I think people need to check their priorities. Idolizing athletes is a sickness as far as I'm concerned.

Hoags wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:
I mean...internal budget, what more do you want?  Another D-man, so another 5 million tops.

And the team's budget doesn't allow for a 5 million D-man.  No coincidence they traded for Ryan after Alfie was gone.

We can afford Blum and that is it.

I don't really buy that. We spent 8.5 million on the first day if free agency. Yes, we shed some contracts but that's just players with no future here a la Regin.

LeKing wrote:I am just realizing that I've already moved on from this.
I am happy to be a Sens fan and not a "players" fan like a lot of people around town cancelling their season tickets etc.
I think people need to check their priorities. Idolizing athletes is a sickness as far as I'm concerned.

I came close to moving on the minute we acquired Ryan. I'm a fan if this team first and foremost, but this Alfie incident really stung.

I haven't moved past this yet. I just can't. Alfie was revered and given god status in Ottawa. And it wasn't until this week that the thought of him leaving started creeping into our heads. How do you suddenly move on from it?

I know SSF likes to harp on melnyk and murray low-balling him and that being a slap in the face to alfie, but this is the fault of both parties. If you listen to Dreger, Alfie and agent proposed deals to ottawa in the vicinity of $6M or more. Rightfully so, murray said that's unfair and too high. Think about that for a second. $6M? For a 40 year old? Where's the hometown discount? I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary for Murray to reject that. It's called negotiations. Sens made it clear they want something in the $4M-$4.5M area (again, listen to Dreger). Now if THIS is the moment where alfie felt slapped in the face or insulted, I don't know what to say. It's negotiations. You only gave a week for it to start with and leaked it to swedish media that you're coming back, so already it's off to a bad start.

I blame the senators in taking alfie for granted. Anytime you do that with anyone, you're in the wrong. They waited and bided their time as if nothing was wrong. They didn't care about the reports that he was talking to other teams. On thursday when Murray said he was surprised at how everyone was worried and he felt the deal could be done, we all blew a sigh of relief and felt murray was confident. In reality, he was delusional. The sens were delusional. They didn't chase after alfie enough, they didn't make him feel wanted enough. Sens thought it was in the bag (in a way I don't blame them because all of us, including canadian media, thought it was going to be the sens). But therein lies the problem. We all took it for granted, especially the sens.

Even so, there was still one last ditch effort on thursday night, but by then it was 'too late'. I'm sorry, but why is it too late? The franchise that gave you everything alfie made an effort to keep you, and you had already made up your mind? That's not fair in the least bit. Everyone likes to tote around alfie's salary of $1M last season. Well that's what was negotiated in his previous contract. Let's not forget that the deal previous to this one had an option where alfie was to be paid peanuts in the least two years because he didn't play enough games. It was the very same management in Murray/Melnyk that bought him out of that deal and signed him to a much more lucrative deal.

Alfie gave A LOT to this franchise. This city. I will never forget that. But I'm saddened to see that he has effectively forgotten what this city and franchise have given him. He was put on a pedastool by this region. He could do no wrong. We loved everything he ever did. Alfie thinks he'll find solace in a stanley cup victory, but I would tell him that he can lift 10 stanley cups in the most dramatic fashion but will pale in comparison to the 2012 all star game festivities where the city rallied to vote him in, and effectively showed the whole world how much he is adored. The moments where his name is chanted so many times, the standing ovations, the admiration of 20K fans each night. That weekend was alfie's legacy. That weekend was Ottawa's legacy. I"m saddened and disappointed that he threw it away just because of a silly petty little argument about money.

I don't buy for one second this is about the stanley cup. He's playing for $5.5M in a cap driven league. He would have signed for far less with another closer team if it was about the championship.

Thanks Alfie for everything. I still can't boo you or forget your contributions so easily. But I also will never forget this injustice to the people who made you a god.

SpezDispenser wrote:

Hoags wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:
I mean...internal budget, what more do you want?  Another D-man, so another 5 million tops.

And the team's budget doesn't allow for a 5 million D-man.  No coincidence they traded for Ryan after Alfie was gone.

We can afford Blum and that is it.

I don't really buy that.  We spent 8.5 million on the first day if free agency.  Yes, we shed some contracts but that's just players with no future here a la Regin.  

It's still salary out and salary in. Murray can spend whatever he wants up to the internal cap, without Melnyk's approval anyway.
He has to plan his off season moves carefully.

Tell me this doesn't make you teary-eyed after this week's events....where's the loyalty?

Has Melnyk made a public statement yet?

I obviously can never boo Alfie, but his first trip back to CTC/SBP, with 11:11 to go in the first we should observe 11 seconds of silence. Man, if we could pull that off, that silence would be deafening and very powerful.

TheAvatar wrote:Has Melnyk made a public statement yet?

Trading for Bobby Ryan was a bit of a statement.

Here's a great breakdown of events of the alfie saga by garrioch. I hate him but still trust him more than hacks like Yost and senschirp.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/07/05/daniel-alfredssons-departure-examined-by-bruce-garrioch.

Edit: another great breakdown by friedman.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2013/07/07/sp-nhl-friedman-daniel-alfredsson-ottawa-senators-negotiations.html

Great read:
http://www.senatorsextra.com/main/daniel-alfredsson-leaving-senators-for-red-wings-reports


A few excerpts:
"You’ve got to feel what a terrible loss it is for the franchise,” a remarkably candid Murray said. “If you didn’t feel that, then you weren’t here very often. He’s a big game player, a good man, a guy who helped all our kids…it’s hard to lose this guy.”



"When the two finally spoke and Alfredsson suggested it was simply like he was fading away into retirement, Murray didn’t want to hear it.

“I told him, ‘but Alfie, you didn’t retire, you’re going to play in our league, and dammit, in our division."


I feel like we definitely got better for this coming season. Over the long term however, we loose a great mentor - instilling strong work ethic and commitment to win. I also still think Silf can be a very good to elite player in this league. Noeson also a tough loss redundant or not- you can never have too many guys like him especially given the make up of most of our division rivals.

I for one am going to miss Alfie more than words can say.

What I regret most is that Sens fans will not be able to give him a proper good-bye in what could be his last NHL season.

Now whether you believe what Murray & Alfie said in their interviews... is a decision you should make for yourself. Not everyone is going to agree.

I sincerely hope that in the first regular season game that Detroit is in Ottawa in period 1 at 11:11 -- one more Alfie... Alfie.. Alfie chant for the final time. He deserves it.

We can't go back, we can only look forward to the future with what we have and what we have is very good young players.

Detroit has Zetterberg, Datsyuk but is any of the other players on that team really any better than what the Sens now have to offer? I really don't think so.

I think his decision to go to Detroit to get a Cup is the wrong one.

I sincerely hope Ottawa puts up more points and gets farther into the playoffs than Detroit.

As Ian Mendes wrote about.. the words Alfie said about the Sens not being a contender should be motivation for this team to prove him wrong.