Daniel Alfredsson’s career might be over and that should make us all feel bad.
Daniel Alfredsson’s career might be done and that’s a bummer
A lingering back issue may force the 41-year-old star to retire.
USA TODAY Sports
Alfredsson had been skating recently as he tries to overcome a back issue that held him to 68 games last season and kept him off the ice most of the summer. Recently, however, he’s had to shut it down and stop skating and there’s no sign as to when, or if, he’ll return as Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press shared.
“He was feeling pretty good but was getting frustrated because he wasn’t getting over the hump,” Holland told the Free Press today. “He would feel good, push it and have a setback. He was frustrated because he was not able to get to the point where he wants to be at to tell me he wants to practice with us.”
Alfredsson turns 42 in December and, amid a myriad of injuries sustained by the Red Wings last season, he was Detroit's leading scorer. The fact they're willing to wait things out a bit longer to see if he can go says a lot about him as a player. It might also say a bit about Detroit, but that's neither here nor there. The sad truth that's coming to light here is that Alfredsson's career is at its virtual end.
A player at his age is uncommon in the NHL. Guys like Chris Chelios, Teemu Selanne, and Gordie Howe (going way back when) are rare. Seeing a player betrayed by their own body is sad. It was clear Alfredsson could still play. He may not have been the 40-goal, 90-point guy he was in Ottawa, but he was still getting it done. Putting up 18 goals and 49 points in 68 games is a hell of a thing for a 41-year-old.
Time catches up to everyone - it’s inevitable and perhaps this is the case for Alfie. A cranky back ends a career after a cranky departure from Ottawa. If this is it for Alfie, let the Hall of Fame talk begin for a player who had 444 goals and 1,157 points in 1,246 games during the “dead puck” era of the NHL.
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