OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators lost a key piece of its front office on the opening day of NHL free agency.
Retired captain Daniel Alfredsson announced Saturday he was leaving his role as the Senators' senior adviser of hockey operations.
The former star forward, who held the position for two seasons, confirmed his decision in a statement.
"After two enjoyable years learning about the front office of hockey with the Senators, I'm pleased to pass along that I've made the decision to step away from the game and will take this time to evaluate what professional challenge I will pursue next," Alfredsson said. "I want to thank the Senators for the opportunity. It has enabled me to understand the type of commitments required to work in hockey should I determine that to be my future path.
"Our first order of business is getting established in our new home in Ottawa and returning to Gothenburg, with my family, to visit Swedish family and friends for the summer. We look forward to sharing the details of what's next for the Alfredsson family in the future."
Senators general manager Pierre Dorion admitted he was somewhat surprised by Alfredsson's decision to step away, but said, "the door will always be open for Daniel."
"Daniel's input over the last two years has been tremendous," said Dorion. "We've really developed a really good friendship, really developed a really good professional working relationship. Wherever Daniel goes you can be sure, he's a pretty bright guy, he's going to have success.
Alfredsson's departure will be a loss for the organization's hockey operations department, but will likely have a greater impact on the fan base.
Fans were livid when the organization failed to sign Alfredsson to a contract extension in 2013. He ended up signing with the Detroit Red Wings.
In December 2014, Alfredsson signed a one-day contract allowing him to retire as a Senator. Last December Alfredsson, who spent 17 seasons in Ottawa, became the first player in modern Senators history to have his jersey number retired by the team.
Dorion said Alfredsson didn't really give him a reason for the departure other than it being "the right thing to do at this point in time."
Alfredsson's departure was the Senators' second significant loss in the past ten days. Just over a week ago Ottawa lost veteran defenceman Marc Methot to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
Despite the losses, Dorion said there is much to be optimistic about.
During the team's development camp last week, coaches and management were impressed with defenceman Thomas Chabot's play and believe he will be able to step into Methot's role. Ottawa also has high expectations for Ben Harpur, who was solid during the Senators playoff run, as well as Christian Jaros, who Dorion described as a right-handed Mark Borowiecki.
"I'm pumped up about our team," said Dorion. "I really feel we can continue on the path that we finished last year."
The Senators also signed forward Nate Thompson to a two-year contract. Thompson, 32, played the last three seasons in Anaheim and had also played under Guy Boucher for two years in Tampa.
"He's someone who will definitely help our culture here," Dorion said. "A hard player, someone that can play the (penalty kill), block shots, bring speed."
Ottawa also signed five minor-league players to two-way contracts: defenceman Erik Burgdoerfer and centre Ben Sexton inked two-year deals while centre Max Reinhart, right-wing Tyler Randell and goaltender Danny Taylor signed one-year deals.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
