Daniel Alfredssons 17th season in Ottawa is tentatively slated to be his last.
Forty-eight games to say goodbye, albeit, all in the East.
Alfie is the Senators' all-time leader in games played (1,131), goals (416), assists (666) and points (1,082). He is also the NHLs longest-reigning captain, having worn the C since 1999-00.
Stamkos piling up goals
Tampas Steven Stamkos scored 60 goals last season to capture his second Maurice Richard Trophy. He is the first NHLer to reach that elusive plateau since 2007-08 (Alex Ovechkin, 65).
Since the start of 2009-10, Stamkos has 156 goals. Thats 36 more than the next-closest player (Ovechkin, 120). Not too shabby.
Washington's new direction
Change in philosophy.
That is what's going on in Washington now that Adam Oates has taken over for Dale Hunter, who took over for Bruce Boudreau.
NHL
Oates, who served as an assistant in New Jersey, has never been a head coach until now but many feel his style as a player will translate behind the bench and benefit Alex Ovechkin.
When you look at the Finals this year, you saw two teams that were basically in-your-face teams, all over the ice, Oates said of the Devils-Kings Cup Final.
I really feel the game today is territory. You have to establish territory and protect it. I look at the Caps lineup and the talent level and I dont see any reason why we cant push the pace and be an aggressive team but at the same time not sacrificing defense. It requires commitment all over the ice.
The NHL contributed to this story.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.