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Will Bruins go all in for Alfie?

February 20, 2013, 1:50 PM ET [24 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Boston Bruins have their fair share of connections to the Ottawa Senators.

The Black-and-Gold were the ones that lured general manager Peter Chiarelli away from the Sens in the summer of 2006, but not before (wink, wink) stealing the 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara out of Ottawa with a five-year contract that came with a monster payout for the Senator-turned-Bruin. As we’d learn, it would be par for the course in what’s become a seven-year tenure for Chiarelli in the Hub.

Efforts to connect his former club to the Bruins continued with the (horrible) Kris Versteeg for Brandon Bochenski trade, a 2007 Petr Schaefer acquisition, the trade and subsequent buyout of former Sens forward Patrick Eaves in the summer of 2009, and the famed Chris Kelly trade prior to the trade deadline in 2011. All of these moves, however, would be footnotes on Chiarelli’s resume if he’s to pull off the newest rumor circulating.

Could Boston be the ones to somehow finagle a move to land thee ultimate Senator, captain Daniel Alfredsson, in town?

Well, if ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun’s report is on, expect them to give it their all.

From LeBrun’s Cross Check blog:

One team that I believe will show serious interest in Alfredsson, if and when the time is right, is the powerhouse Boston Bruins. With the trade of Tim Thomas’ contract, the B’s have lots of cap room to add pieces before the April 3 trade deadline.

The connections, of course, are obvious: GM Peter Chiarelli used to work in Ottawa’s front office and B’s captain Zdeno Chara is a former teammate of Alfredsson's. If there’s one team that could entice Alfredsson, I’m not sure there’s a better fit than Boston.

Know this: I don’t believe Senators GM Bryan Murray has any desire whatsoever to move Alfredsson, even if his team is out of it by April 3. There’s too much respect for what Alfredsson has done for that franchise to even care about what he could bring back asset-wise. Having said that, you can bet that if -- sorry, make that when -- contenders come calling with offers, Murray would likely at least make Alfredsson aware of them and basically let him decide. As it should be, this will be Alfredsson’s call.

There’s still lots to play out, such as the Senators defying the odds and making the playoffs, which would make this a moot point. And even if they don’t, there’s certainly the possibility that Alfredsson, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in July, would never want to leave.

What if he wants to come back and play another season? That’s another possibility you can’t discount. If he does play another season, would he want to try to win a Cup elsewhere and return to Ottawa for a final year? All things to consider.

The trade scenario is food for thought, because I believe the Bruins will make every attempt to lure Alfredsson to Beantown if given the chance.


I could be wrong, of course, but rarely do we see LeBrun write with such conviction, no?

Part of Boston’s “big four” as I’ve called it in 2013, with fans longing for four forwards to somehow land in Boston -- Alfredsson, Jarome Iginla, the Ducks’ Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan -- the career-long Senator comes with the most familiarity. Spending his entire 16-year career with Ottawa, the 40-year-old captain has been Mr. Senator, with 420 goals and 1,092 points in 1,147 games with the Sens, and is no stranger to playoff play, with 111 games of postseason experience to his name.

Known to fans in the Hub as one of the game’s dreaded Bruin-killers, scoring 26 goals and 68 points in 81 career contests against Boston, it’s clear that the Swede is nearing the end of his career, slated to turn 41 in December, but that’s not to suggest that he’s not thee absolute face of the Sens’ franchise.

Despite the recent torch-passing to defensemen Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza, Alfredsson’s still the guy in Ottawa. He’s also a guy without a Stanley Cup to his name. A Gold medal in 2006 with Sweden, yup. Six All-Star Game nominations, a Calder Memorial Trophy, and even a King Clancy Memorial Trophy last year, yeah, but no Cup.

The closest comparable to the Alfredsson conundrum in Ottawa is that of B’s defensemen Ray Bourque, who gave it all to the Bruins for about two decades before leaving to chase a Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. And like Bourque’s situation with the Bruins, in Ottawa no trade seems like a fair return for a forward that’s given the franchise his all in both the good and bad days of their history.

But as colleague Travis Yost said in his blog today, Alfredsson’s worth to the Ottawa Senators is measured far beyond the goals and assists he brings to the scoresheet on a nightly basis.

Just how can general manager Bryan Murray get a fair return in any trade of the 40-year-old winger? A prospect and a pick seems insulting, but moving substantial pieces for a rental in the final year of his contract (and potentially his career) seems excessive. So, where would the Bruins draw the line? You’d have to assume that anybody on their top-six is out of the question, as acquiring Alfredsson would be a move to bolster its potency, not swap one guy out for another. There’s nobody in Providence outside of (maybe) Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug that would have immediate value for Ottawa, and the Bruins will be extremely hesitant to move somebody like Alexander Khokhlachev, a prospect they literally stole out off the draft board in second round back in 2011. Draft picks? Sure, if Ottawa’s in the market for drafting somebody between 20 and 25th overall, then yeah there’s that.

Of course, if that doesn’t tell you everything you’d need to know, as you’d expect 15 games in, the trade market is a complete gongshow.

There’s no way of knowing what who wants, or better yet, if the Senators are even going to be selling come late March. Despite their plethora of injuries and borderline AHL roster littered with talent from their farm in Binghamton, the Sens remain competitive in the now, with 20 points in 17 games, enough to keep them three points out of first in the Northeast Division and three points ahead of the ninth seed in the East.

But if the Sens are to fall out of the race, and Alfredsson does come to Boston, where would he fit in Boston's top-nine? Putting him on the third line with former teammate Chris Kelly, while intriguing, probably wouldn't be the best utilization of the gifted goal-scorer. The Bergeron line with Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin on the wings seems virtually set in stone, but an opening on the top-line could come if you put Alfie with the Bruins' best playmaking centermen (David Krejci) and physical presence to prevent Alfredsson from getting mashed by the opposition with Milan Lucic on the opposite wing. The move would of course force Nathan Horton down the lineup, but would ultimately make the B's a three-line deep club, something that hasn't been the case in 2013.

Yet, as has been the case for about three deadlines that have pitted the Sens as potential sellers now, the decision will ultimately come down to how ‘Alfie’ feels about both the Senators’ chances and his own career, whether or not this will be his last year to go for a Cup, et cetera, et cetera. But if and when No. 11 hits the market, expect PC to go all in.

And who could blame him?

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