28 Days Later: After Alfiegeddon

Friday will mark 4 weeks since the signing heard around Ottawa.  The Alfie Apocalypse if you will.  28 days.

Have your feelings regarding the situation changed at all in the 672 odd hours since you became aware that Daniel Alfredsson was eschewing the Senators in favor of the Detroit Red Wings?

Mar. 16, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson (11) skates with the puck against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Ottawa beats the Sabres 4 to 3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

I wrote at the time, with a lot of anger and disappointment in my heart and mind, an open letter to both Daniel Alfredsson and Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk.  I was disappointed and angry with both sides, and wondered how they could have let the situation progress that far.

In the 50 or so different conversations I have had in the past 28 days about the topic, I am still no further ahead in assigning blame or clearing out my emotions toward the captain that I had followed for so many years.

For every conversation I have had, there has been a different take on what happened and different speculation on why it happened.

For their part, both Alfredsson and Melnyk have been tightlipped and have not addressed the situation publicly to any specific degree.

Most disappointing to me is the complete lack of acknowledgement of the fans of the Senators from Alfredsson himself.  Despite whatever happened between him and the club that he played for for 17 seasons and made him play his 18th elsewhere, there still should have been some type of recognition to the fans, many of whom considered him close to a diety.

They stood by Alfredsson through fake stick throwings, hits from behind on Darcy Tucker that resulted in game winning goals. They stood behind him through shooting pucks at Scott Niedermayer, and uttering two of the most famous words of the 2013 playoffs – “Probably not”.

I am not saying he needs to come back to Ottawa to have an emotional, “I told Spezz I wouldn’t do this”  Gretzky-esque press conference or take out a full page ad in the paper, but a simple tweet to thank the fans for 18 years of support wouldn’t be too much to ask, would it?

I understand it is a business and people make business decisions.  This one was a little more personal for many people for a lot of reasons:  The player, who he was and what he represented to this franchise and this city.

Twenty eight days later and I am not sure much has been resolved in my mind.  Time to turn the page until December when he makes his return and I can find out my true feelings on the matter.