Daniel Alfredsson thinks it's time for Melnyk to sell Senators: report

Daniel Alfredsson, who captained the Ottawa Senators for 13 of his 17 seasonswith the team, has reportedly spoken with Ottawa mayor Jim Watson about thehope for new ownership for the team instead of Eugene Melnyk.

"We've talked a lot, we've talked about the future of the Senators and of itsownership and we agree," Alfredsson told former Ottawa Sun columnist SusanSherring on Sunday, while appearing in support of Watson as the mayor kickedoff his campaign for a third term. "We hope we get a new owner."

According to Sherring, Alfredsson later told Sherring his comments were offthe record, but she published them in her blog On the City, From the Burbs while noting that no such agreement had been made before the interview.

Melnyk, who turned 59 on Sunday, bought the team in 2003, when Alfredsson wasseven seasons into his 18-year NHL career. The owner has been involved inseveral contentious situations between players and fans over the years since,including the contract dispute that led to Alfredsson leaving Ottawa in 2013to play the final year of his career with the Detroit Red Wings.

Left organization last year

After retiring, Alfredsson returned to the team to join the front office in2015 as a senior adviser of hockey operations, but stepped away from theorganization abruptly last July, without providing any details as to why.

In December, Melnyk told reporters that he would consider moving the franchise whose ticket sales lagged in the middle of a 67-point season elsewhere"if it becomes a disaster," adding that he would not "blow a lifetime ofworking hard to support a hockey team." He also said, as he has many times,that he has no intention of selling the team.

Many Senators fans showed disdain for Melnyk late in the season, bringinganti-Melnyk signs to games and buying billboards across the city bearing thehashtag #MelnykOut.

Karlsson future 'not all in his hands'

The fire has been fueled by speculation that star defenceman Erik Karlsson,who has spent all nine of his NHL seasons with the Senators and captained theteam for the last four, could be on his way out. The team has expressed adesire to re-sign the four-time All-Star and two-time Norris Trophy winner,but it has also said it will listen to trade offers for him.

"To me, he says that he wants to stay," Alfredsson told reporters of Karlsonwhen asked earlier this month at the International Ice Hockey Federation Hallof Fame induction in Copenhagen. "But it's not all in his hands."

Alfredsson, 45, is the all-time leader in almost every meaningful statistic inSenators history, though he ranks second in games played, one behind longtimeteammate Chris Phillips.

Karlsson, who turns 28 on Thursday, ranks third in franchise history in bothassists (392) and points (518), while ranking ninth in goals scored (126).