The Ottawa Senators surprised in 2011-12 by finishing second in the Northeast Division and returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence. Now, they'll have the chance to build on that performance in 2012-13, as captain Daniel Alfredsson has announced that he will return to Ottawa for another year, the final season on his contract. The 39-year old Swede had been considering retirement, but opted to come back for one more run with the only NHL team he's ever played for.
The return of Alfredsson, who was third on the Senators last season with 27 goals and fourth with 59 total points, helps Ottawa keep moving in a Northeast Division that hasn't seen much shakeup in the offseason. The biggest moves this summer have seen the Buffalo Sabres trade for Steve Ott and the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire James van Riemsdyk, but overall, there hasn't been a blockbuster move on the order of Rick Nash coming to the New York Rangers, the Minnesota Wild adding Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, or even the Dallas Stars signing up Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney.
There could be more moves yet to come in the Northeast, though, as Boston still has the contract of goaltender Tim Thomas to trade. Thomas, who does not plan to play next season, is still on the books for a salary cap hit of $5 million and an actual salary of $3 million, which could make his contract useful to a team with a low payroll looking to get above the salary cap floor. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, are one of the teams thought to be gunning for the services of Roberto Luongo, who has likely played his last game as a Vancouver Canuck as the team looks to trade him.
At this point, however, there is nothing more to those moves than speculation, and the return of Alfredsson should help Ottawa keep its place in the division with a chance to improve. A number of Ottawa's younger players, including Zack Smith, Erik Condra and Colin Greening, were part of the Binghamton Senators team that won the Calder Cup in the AHL in 2011, and the young Ottawa team gave the East's first-place team, the New York Rangers, all it could handle in the first round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As those players continue to improve and lift the fortunes of a Senators team that was originally pegged for a long rebuilding process, they'll have Alfredsson's veteran voice to guide them for at least one more season.
