Senators Alumni, International Hockey, and Brent Seabrook

After an extended break for the holidays, things are back in full swing in Sensland so let’s get caught up on some of the bigger and/or more curious stories around hockey.

• Daniel Alfredsson has officially entered the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame. The Gothenburg native, and all-around best human being to ever exist, won an Olympic gold medal with team Sweden in 2006 while leading his team in scoring and had a couple of exceptional seasons with Frolunda of the, now, SHL before making it big in north America in 1995. With his number 11 hanging in the rafters in Ottawa, and an invitation to the Swedish hall, only one major accolade still seems overdue for the greatest Senator in modern franchise history.
• Future Ottawa Senator Alexis Lafreniere will miss at least one game at the world juniors after sustaining a knee injury during the second period of Saturday’s game against team Russia. Although many feared initially that the injury would result in a long-term absence, team Canada has stated that Lafreniere may yet return before the tournament’s end. Lafreniere, as we have discussed on this site ad nauseam, will undoubtedly go first overall in the 2020 NHL entry draft so fans in Ottawa have a particular interest in his status for the rest of this season.
• In slightly more trivial world juniors news, team Canada’s captain and Coyotes prospect Barrett Hayton has formally apologized for failing to remove his helmet during the national anthem following the game against team Russia on Saturday. From the same game, team Canada forward Joe Veleno has received a one-game suspension from the IIHF for headbutting Russia’s Danil Mysul. The officials did not call a penalty on the play.
• In other international ice hockey news, the where-are-they-now Spengler Cup has resumed and the Ottawa Senators alumni are out in full force again. We’ve got all your favourites: Patrick Wiercioch! Chris DiDomenico! And Adam Tambellini? You betcha! In all seriousness though, looking at the team Canada roster and thinking about all of Ottawa’s injuries on the back end this season, signing someone like Wiercioch or Alex Grant doesn’t sound all that preposterous to me right now.
• And lastly, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed veteran defender Brent Seabrook on long-term injured reserve with reported hip issues. First and foremost, we take health and safety very seriously around here so we wish any and all injured folks a speedy recovery. Nonetheless, in the wake of Marian Hossa’s infamous equipment allergy and all of Chicago’s well-documented salary cap struggles, this announcement has received its fair share of scrutiny. Seabrook has four more years and $20.5M left on his contract after this season./

The Sens play the Pens in Pittsburgh, PA tonight and we’ve got all your coverage here at S7S!