Daniel Alfredsson said goodbye Thursday to the city he called home for 17 years, and in so doing explained his side of why he was unable to come to terms with the Ottawa Senators on a new contract.
Speaking at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, where he helped raise awareness of mental health issues for years, Alfredsson -- accompanied by his wife Bibi -- gave a heartfelt farewell to the Ottawa community.
"To Ottawa, to the always loyal Sens fans, to the Sens organization, thank you from the bottom of our hearts," Alfredsson said in a prepared statement.
However, later in that same statement Alfredsson, 40, explained his version of events leading up to his decision to leave the Senators as a free agent and sign with the Detroit Red Wings in July. He signed a one-year deal worth $5.5 million.
"When I did my last contract for four years ending in the (2012-13) season, I was asked to help the team manage the salary cap by adding on an extra year to my contract," he said in the opening statement. "I agreed. Each side fully expected I would retire and not play the 2012-13 season."
When Alfredsson came to the decision last summer to play last season, he says he expressed an interest in signing a contract extension with the Senators that would make up for the lower salary he would be playing under in 2012-13, but that the "contract negotiations went nowhere."
"But I played out the season as I had promised and I believe this past season, in my view, was a very special one," Alfredsson said, referencing the team's run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs before a second-round ouster by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Again this summer, when he decided he would play another season, Alfredsson said the negotiations were "stalled" with the Senators when the unrestricted free agency negotiating window opened. Suddenly, he said, he was fielding calls from several other teams, one of which was the Red Wings, where he had many friends playing.
That's when he said he and his family decided to pursue another challenge and leave Ottawa for the first time in Alfredsson's long NHL career.
He admitted that he wishes he could take back the comment he made July 5 when he said the Red Wings had a better chance of winning the Stanley Cup than the Senators did, but Alfredsson said he feels good that he leaves Ottawa with the team in good shape and ready to contend. He said one aspect of his decision was that perhaps his departure would open opportunities for younger Senators players to shine.
Alfredsson, Ottawa's captain since the 1999-2000 season, is the team's all-time leader in games played, goals and points. He has played 1,178 games with the Senators, putting up 426 goals and 1,108 points.
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