Daniel Alfredsson was not only a world-class player.
He was also a leader of rank.
He once won the hearts of his teammates – with four forbidden words to his own coach.
– Alfie just knew how to solve a situation, praises Erik Karlsson.
This week, Daniel Alfredsson was finally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He has been available for selection for a couple of years now, but has been snubbed each time. But last winter, Ottawa fans, and Senators profiles, had enough. Erik Karlsson was just one of the players who took part in the campaign to get Alfie into the Hall of Fame, and it succeeded.
“What I like most”
Now seven Swedes are inducted into the exclusive crowd, and no one can say that it was undeserved that Alfredsson was finally elected. He has credentials that few can match, but he wasn’t just a good player. He was a long-time team captain in Ottawa, and absolutely loved for his leadership.
– Alfie knew how to read and solve a situation, says Erik Karlsson, now in the San Jose Sharks, to The Athletic.
Erik Karlsson has talked many times about how much Alfredsson meant to him during the years in Ottawa. And there are more people who can attest to what an important person Alfredsson was in the dressing room.
– What I liked most about Alfie was how he could challenge coaches, and ask why we did certain things, says Dany Heatley, with close to 900 NHL games.
– I really respect his ability and presence to question things.
READ MORE: How his teammate’s old skates saved Alfredsson’s career – when he was one(!) measly game away from retiring
Forbidden words to the coach
The Athletic has spoken to several of Alfredsson’s former teammates, and they remember one incident in particular during the 2012/2013 season. The team’s coach Paul MacLean kicked a trash can and yelled at his players after a poor first period. In the middle of the outburst, Alfredsson stood up and said:
“Paul, get the f*ck out”.
Alfredsson believed that the players themselves would solve the situation, and to even dare to stand up in that way to one’s coach says a lot.
But for the teammates in Ottawa, it meant a lot. It meant that the team captain had had enough, and that he believed enough in his players.
– It happened 100 percent, says Erik Condra, who played in Ottawa from 2010 to 2015.
– I even think that coaches want it to happen sometimes. They get tired of repeating the same message over and over again. They want their players to be cops in the locker room. That was exactly what Alfredsson was.
READ MORE: Daniel Alfredsson reveals his very own memory of Börje Salming – in the most powerful tribute tonight