Hockey Hall of Fame passes on Alfie, inducts Marián Hossa, Doug Wilson
This was former Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson's 4th year on the ballot
The Hockey Hall of Fame has passed on Ottawa Senators legend Daniel Alfredsson for a fourth time, inducting instead his onetime teammate Marián Hossa and former Ottawa 67's and Chicago Blackhawks player Doug Wilson.
The Hall of Fame announced its 2020 inductees on Wednesday after holding a remote vote.
"This honour means so much to me," said Hossa in a Hockey Hall of Fame news release. "I would like to thank everyone who voted for me. I have learned so much about life through the game of hockey and am very appreciative of this recognition."
Born in Slovakia, Hossa played right wing for the Senators for seven seasons, starting in the late 1990s.
He was the team's first-round pick in the 1997 NHL draft. Hossa went on to play for the Chicago Blackhawks, where he helped win Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
In his 1,309 NHL regular season games, Hossa recorded 525 goals and 609 assists.
The Ottawa-born Wilson, who was also honoured Wednesday, played for the 67's for three seasons in the mid-1970s before moving up to the NHL, where he spent 14 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Wilson is now general manager of the San Jose Sharks.
"I'm not even a Hall of Famer in my own house, so joining this club means the world to me," Wilson is quoted as saying in the news release. "I would like to thank all of the people who have been so good to me in this game."
Fans of the Senators were anxious to see if Alfredsson, the team's longtime captain, would finally get the nod this time around. Alfredsson, who led the team for 13 seasons including a trip to the Stanley Cup final, is the franchise's all-time leader in games played, points, goals and assists.
A sixth-round draft pick in 1994, Alfredsson won the Calder Trophy in 1996 as the NHL's top rookie after scoring 26 goals, made six trips to the NHL All-Star game and cracked the 40-goal mark twice. Under Alfredsson, the Senators regularly made it to the playoffs, reaching the 2007 Stanley Cup final only to lose in five games to Anaheim.
The 2020 Hockey Hall of Fame induction celebration is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 16 in Toronto.
