Alfredsson taking his Swede time on retirement decision
The waiting game continues for Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson.
LAS VEGAS – The waiting game continues for Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson.
Alfredsson, in Sin City as a nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy at Wednesday’s NHL Awards ceremonies, says he’s no closer to a decision on whether to retire or play one more season.
He suffered a mild setback in his workout plan earlier this month, after coming down with a throat infection which limited his activity.
“I was sick for pretty much a week and a half and I’m just getting back into it now,” he said Tuesday.
Alfredsson appreciates that Senators general manager Bryan Murray isn’t pushing him into making a decision before he’s ready.
Alfredsson wants to work out harder than he did last summer, when he was rehabilitating following back disc surgery.
“Once I start getting into the (serious) training and the first few weeks, I will push myself to see if I can handle it physically and mentally and then I will know where I stand. I want to make sure my body holds up for lifting and being a bit more aggressive in training.”
Alfredsson has talked to several players about the process leading up to retirement and he acknowledges that he doesn’t want to make a premature decision, only to regret it later.
“I still have a desire to perform, but can I do what it takes to perform at a level consistently, the way I want to be? That’s the question.”
I would also suppose that issues like Karlsson’s contract negotiations and free agent signings (or lack thereof) have to play a part in his decision. What happens if he decides to retire and the Sens sign Rick Nash two days later? Let’s face it, the biggest ‘what if’ revolves around the Sens chances of winning a Stanley Cup in the next year or two. To even suggest that was a realistic possibility would have been laughable, but now not so much. As the Sens showed in the playoffs, and as the playoffs so amply demonstrated, it’s a wide open field as long as you get your ticket to the dance. Adding either one of Nash or Bobby Ryan and a legitimate top 3 D-man to play alongside Karlsson and this team has as good a chance as anybody next year. My thinking is that Alfie waits until mid-july at the earliest before making a decision.