Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of Ottawa selecting Alexandre Daigle 1st overall. In honor of this historic milestone, Skate in the Crease takes a look at the enigma known as Alexandre Daigle…
“He’s not the next Wayne Gretzky, not the next Mario Lemieux…”
It took less than two minutes. Two minutes after bubbly, Hollywood looking Alexandre Daigle was selected as the 1st overall draft pick in the 1993 draft; Bob McKenzie issued his cautionary tale. What the Ottawa Senators were getting in Daigle was a very good player, who had the potential to become great if he took it to the next level. Daigle, an eighteen year old French-Canadian, who dominated the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Victoriaville Tigers, had been deemed to be the next big thing in the NHL. The Ottawa Senators, the floundering franchise that only started the year before and were looking a star franchise player, selected him in the hopes that he could put the Senators on the map—and that’s where things unraveled.
In order to fully understand the situation, one has to look back at the 1991 NHL entry draft when the Quebec Nordiques selected Eric Lindros 1st overall. For the Nordiques selecting Lindros was an obvious choice, but part of a larger picture. Quebec was a small market team looking for a big name star to market. In Lindros, Quebec would be getting “The Next One”, not just a big time star, but a hockey prodigy who was destined for greatness. Drafting Lindros was a once in the lifetime opportunity, an opportunity that could overnight, transform the Quebec Nordiques. Unfortunately, greatness for the Nordiques under Lindros was not meant to be. Lindros made it abundantly clear he would not play for the Nordiques due to the language barrier (maybe Montreal Canadiens should be taking notes here), distance, and the fact that Quebec was not marketable.
It took less than two minutes. Two minutes after bubbly, Hollywood looking Alexandre Daigle was selected as the 1st overall draft pick in the 1993 draft; Bob McKenzie issued his cautionary tale. What the Ottawa Senators were getting in Daigle was a very good player, who had the potential to become great if he took it to the next level. Daigle, an eighteen year old French-Canadian, who dominated the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Victoriaville Tigers, had been deemed to be the next big thing in the NHL. The Ottawa Senators, the floundering franchise that only started the year before and were looking a star franchise player, selected him in the hopes that he could put the Senators on the map—and that’s where things unraveled.
In order to fully understand the situation, one has to look back at the 1991 NHL entry draft when the Quebec Nordiques selected Eric Lindros 1st overall. For the Nordiques selecting Lindros was an obvious choice, but part of a larger picture. Quebec was a small market team looking for a big name star to market. In Lindros, Quebec would be getting “The Next One”, not just a big time star, but a hockey prodigy who was destined for greatness. Drafting Lindros was a once in the lifetime opportunity, an opportunity that could overnight, transform the Quebec Nordiques. Unfortunately, greatness for the Nordiques under Lindros was not meant to be. Lindros made it abundantly clear he would not play for the Nordiques due to the language barrier (maybe Montreal Canadiens should be taking notes here), distance, and the fact that Quebec was not marketable.
Quebec was dying to make a splash with “The Next One” and drafted Lindros anyway. The move at the time proved costly for Nordiques as Lindros refused to wear the honorary jersey given to him on draft day, and refused to make any comments about his future in Quebec. The media circus lasted a year before the Nordiques finally traded Lindros to Philadelphia for a king’s ransom—several of the assets acquired, including Peter Forsberg, would end up setting the Nordiques for Stanley Cup contention a few years later, but in the short term did nothing to elevate them for marketability.
Fast forward to 1993 and the Ottawa Senators were in the same position. Despite drafting center Alexi Yashin the previous year, Ottawa needed to prove that they belonged in the NHL, and with a Francophile Canadian player as a centerpiece, they might just become a market hotbed. Daigle was a self-assured young man who had the talent and looks of a star in the making. After all, he remarked how important it was to go number one overall, because “no one remembers number two.”
For Ottawa, picking Daigle was a no-brainer; after all, the consensus was Daigle was the best player in the draft. With the addition of Daigle, along with Alexi Yashin, Ottawa dreamt of big things for the franchise. Following the drafting of Yashin, the Russian center went back to Dynamo Moscow, setting up a Calder Trophy race the following season with Daigle. Yashin cruised in his rookie season to 79 points while Daigle finished with 51 points—certainly respectable, but not Earth-shattering for a player who was compared to such greatness. In fact, the rookie seasons of both Yashin and Daigle started a trend in which Yashin would outscore his teammate in every season that they were teammates.
But despite all of this, despite the fact that Yashin had proved himself to be the better player than Diagle from the start, the Senators did their best to make Daigle the face of the franchise.
Yashin, naturally, felt disrespected. Not only was Yashin passed over for the Senators nomination for rookie of the year, but Daigle was signed to a $12 million contract, the largest rookie salary in league history—even more than Eric Lindros at the time. Yashin’s contract was $4 million over five years, and in subsequent seasons, it became obvious that Daigle simply was not going to play up to his contract. A disgruntled Yashin had a holdout and several contract disputes with Ottawa management, which turned off Senators fans who felt Yashin’s demands were ridiculous. Yashin would eventually be traded at the 2001 entry draft to the New Islanders in exchange for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt, and the 2nd overall pick which turned out to be Jason Spezza.
But despite all of this, despite the fact that Yashin had proved himself to be the better player than Diagle from the start, the Senators did their best to make Daigle the face of the franchise.
Yashin, naturally, felt disrespected. Not only was Yashin passed over for the Senators nomination for rookie of the year, but Daigle was signed to a $12 million contract, the largest rookie salary in league history—even more than Eric Lindros at the time. Yashin’s contract was $4 million over five years, and in subsequent seasons, it became obvious that Daigle simply was not going to play up to his contract. A disgruntled Yashin had a holdout and several contract disputes with Ottawa management, which turned off Senators fans who felt Yashin’s demands were ridiculous. Yashin would eventually be traded at the 2001 entry draft to the New Islanders in exchange for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt, and the 2nd overall pick which turned out to be Jason Spezza.
Daigle, meanwhile, remained on a long leash despite the fact that his individual growth as the player Ottawa envisioned never came to fruition. Daigle seemed only half-interested in hockey, more focused on the Hollywood life, and had rumors of late-night partying and drug abuse swirling around. In 1995, Senators coaches Rich Bowness and Alain Vigneault dropped Daigle to the fourth line because of his on-ice performance. Management wasn’t too happy with the lineup change and Bowness and Vigneault were gone.
By the time Senators management realized they made a mistake in drafting Daigle, they were able to work out a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. In January of 1998, Alexandre Daigle was sent packing by Ottawa. In return for Daigle, the Senators received another underachieving player in Pat Falloon, young Vinny Prospal, and a 2nd round draft pick.
While Daigle’s hockey career is as irrelevant as Patrik Stefan, all the blame shouldn't be placed squarely on Daigle. Looking back, can anyone really blame Daigle? As a teenager with good looks and a lot cash--not to mention having the ability to drive a Porsche to work everyday, Daigle was overwhelmed. It wasn't as if other young hockey players were more mature. In fact, Chris Pronger was considered "impatient and immature." Daigle's failure was only colossal because the Ottawa Senators made it colossal. Their refusal to grasp the concept that Daigle's heart really wasn't into the sport of hockey in the first place should have sounded the alarms. But in their desperation, Ottawa avoided all of the warning signs and continued to proclaim Daigle the franchise player he would never become. In doing so, they threw their other franchise player, Alexei Yashin, under the bus to the point where Yashin's presence on the team enraged fans.
Daigle’s legacy is much more profound than simply being a draft-day bust. This legacy can be found in the re-structuring of rookie contracts, a draft lottery to ensure that NHL teams don’t throw games to improve their chances at the 1st overall pick, and most importantly, offers up a warning to all teams that you can’t make somethin’ outta a whole lotta nothin’.
By the time Senators management realized they made a mistake in drafting Daigle, they were able to work out a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. In January of 1998, Alexandre Daigle was sent packing by Ottawa. In return for Daigle, the Senators received another underachieving player in Pat Falloon, young Vinny Prospal, and a 2nd round draft pick.
While Daigle’s hockey career is as irrelevant as Patrik Stefan, all the blame shouldn't be placed squarely on Daigle. Looking back, can anyone really blame Daigle? As a teenager with good looks and a lot cash--not to mention having the ability to drive a Porsche to work everyday, Daigle was overwhelmed. It wasn't as if other young hockey players were more mature. In fact, Chris Pronger was considered "impatient and immature." Daigle's failure was only colossal because the Ottawa Senators made it colossal. Their refusal to grasp the concept that Daigle's heart really wasn't into the sport of hockey in the first place should have sounded the alarms. But in their desperation, Ottawa avoided all of the warning signs and continued to proclaim Daigle the franchise player he would never become. In doing so, they threw their other franchise player, Alexei Yashin, under the bus to the point where Yashin's presence on the team enraged fans.
Daigle’s legacy is much more profound than simply being a draft-day bust. This legacy can be found in the re-structuring of rookie contracts, a draft lottery to ensure that NHL teams don’t throw games to improve their chances at the 1st overall pick, and most importantly, offers up a warning to all teams that you can’t make somethin’ outta a whole lotta nothin’.