Today is the day the meeting will take place at the HHOF to go over the list of potential inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and for the first time former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is eligible for selection.

Many (if not most) Senators fans would argue that he is a lock and should be a first ballot Hall of Famer, given the fact that he is iconic in the city, has his fingerprints all over almost every important moment in the franchise's history while he was a Senator, and is the club's leader in almost every statistical category.

While all of that is certainly true, the appropriate honor for that type of career is to have your number retired, the honor that was bestowed upon him last season when the #11 was lifted to the rafters.

As for the Hall of Fame, are his numbers and accomplishments worthy, and if so, are they worthy of being inducted on the first ballot.

Alfredsson has 444 goals, 713 assists and 1,157 points in his NHL career. He won a Calder Trophy and an Olympic Gold Medal. He also won more minor awards in the Mark Messier Leadership award and the King Clancy, but I wouldn't consider those major awards when it comes to selection.

Of the candidates that are eligible for the first time, I would put Alfredsson second in terms of potential, after Teemu Selanne. Alfie is second among all first years behind Selanne in goals, assists and points. Other names that might be realistically considered would be Ryan Smyth (largely for international play and being known as Captain Canada), Alex Kovalev and Saku Koivu.

But, with Alfredsson's stats and lack of a Stanley Cup to his credit, will he get the nod?

There are 13 players with more than Alfie's 444 goals that are eligible but have not been inducted in previous years, and 7 players with more points, some of them with significantly more.

Alfredsson never had a 50 goal year (he reached 40 twice, with top seasons of 43 and 40), and had just one season with more than 90 points (103 in 2005-06).

The decision will be made public today, and the only lock is Selanne, while names like Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi, Dave Andreychuk, Pierre Turgeon, Alex Mogilny, Paul Kariya and Bernie Nicholls, among others have been waiting patiently and been passed over numerous times. Alfredsson probably fits in that group, on the edge but just needs a couple of boosters among the selection committee.

We will find out soon. The announcement will be made on TSN at 3:00 PM eastern

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