NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says the league won't investigate Daniel Alfredsson's alleged cap-circumventing with the Ottawa Senators. Alfredsson claimed Thursday the Senators asked him to add a year to his last contract to help lower the cap hit even though neither side had any intention of Alfredsson playing that season. The Senators have denied that any such agreement took place. "I would say that if negotiations went down precisely as Daniel described (them), that would be a concern," deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email to the Ottawa Citizen on Thursday. "We haven't independently verified that, and at this point we don't intend to."

The Senators' inability to meet Daniel Alfredsson's contract demands while also granting his request to add talent to the roster is a key reason the former captain is now a member of the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk revealed Friday. Melnyk said the club wouldn't have been able to afford a player the calibre of Bobby Ryan - the Anaheim Ducks' star forward the team dealt for hours after learning Alfredsson would sign elsewhere - and meet the numbers put forward by Alfredsson's camp. "You can't have it both ways and say, 'Well I want this for me, but I want you to do this with me and the team.' It's 'which one do you want?'" Melnyk says he eventually told GM Bryan Murray: "We won't be able to spend that kind of money, so don't promise that we're going to bring anybody else in other than filling a hole that was there."

Kyle Turris says Ottawa Senators fans shouldn't judge Daniel Alfredsson for choosing to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. Alfredsson chose to sign a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Wings instead of staying in Ottawa. Although it upset a lot of fans, Turris says they should remember his whole legacy instead of this one decision. "I think he should be extremely respected coming back (to Ottawa), and hopefully the fans appreciate everything he's done and don't judge him for this one decision," Turris said. "I think when it's all said and done, he's at a point where he's kind of earned the right to do what he wants."

The Ottawa Senators aren't ready to commit to retiring Daniel Alfredsson's number. "We'll see," Senators president Cyril Leeder said. "I'm not going to prejudge that now. That's an announcement that should come at a different point in time." Alfredsson's signing with the Detroit Red Wings came as a surprise to the team, but he still is the team's franchise leader in games, goals and assists. Even if they won't commit to it right now, it's hard to see how they could decide not to retire his number when the time comes.

CBC's Elliotte Friedman reports that the Ottawa Senators were far off the mark in attempting to retain Daniel Alfredsson, who instead signed with the Detroit Red Wings. While Alfredsson wanted $6 million and/or two years, the Senators only offered a one-year, $4 million deal ... at least that was their plan, at first. The two sides reportedly didn't discuss money again, so jilted Ottawa fans might feel like GM Bryan Murray didn't try hard enough to keep him.

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli wasn't surprised to find out that Daniel Alfredsson had decided to leave the Ottawa Senators. Boston was among the teams courting Alfredsson. "After my discussions with him, no, I wasn't surprised," Chiarelli said. "There's a lot of similarities here, too, with Jarome. These guys are elite players in the league for a long time and they want to win. They have a thirst and a hunger, both, to win." He was referring to Jarome Iginla, who spent the vast majority of his career with Calgary, but has moved on in search of a Stanley Cup. One of the differences though was that Iginla departure was via a trade and during the beginning of a rebuild. Ottawa might be a young team, but they are competitive.

Daniel Alfredsson believes the Wings are a great fit to help pursue his "long-time dream" of winning a Stanley Cup. "I've played 18 years and I haven't won the Stanley Cup," Alfredsson said. "That's my dream. I had an opportunity to talk to a couple of teams. Everybody knows Detroit's goal is always to be at the top of the game and to win championships. I'm really excited to get this opportunity at this stage of my career, to go for a Stanley Cup and pursue a long-time dream." Alfredsson will slot in as a top-six winger in Detroit and easily be primed for a 25-goal season.

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Daniel Alfredsson. No terms were announced. After spending 17 seasons with the Ottawa Senators, Alfredsson is heading to Detroit where he will join fellow Swedes Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Eriksson and Johan Franzen to name a few. Alfredsson will be a top-six forward in Detroit so look for a 20 goal, 50 point season from the veteran.

TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting that Daniel Alfredsson won't be re-signing with the Ottawa Senators. The veteran winger apparently told the Senators that he wouldn't be back Thursday night, so that they could better prepare for themselves for Friday's free agency period. The Detroit Red Wings are believed to be where Alfredsson will end up. Stay tuned.

Veteran forward Daniel Alfredsson is expected to make a decision Friday about his destination for the upcoming NHL season. It's no secret that Alfie and the Senators have been working on what would amount to his final NHL contract, but the veteran winger has also fielded offers from other teams, including the Boston Bruins. Alfredsson is currently in his native Sweden and will reportedly announce his plans Friday after sleeping on the decision.