OTTAWA -- Chris Phillips said it was an emotional night when former captain Daniel Alfredsson joined the Ottawa Senators for one last warm-up before their game against the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Alfredsson, who played 17 seasons with the Senators, scoring 426 goals in 1,178 regular-season games, announced his retirement earlier in the day.

"I was a little (choked up) actually," Phillips said. "I held back any tears, but , yeah, I’m a fan of this team too, and being able to play with him and watch him for so long and what he did. … At the same time, knowing that day is closer for me than further, makes you think a lot about it. I found it very emotional."

NASHVILLE -- Martin Brodeur, he of the many accolades and numerous all-time NHL milestones, was cracking jokes prior to making his first start with the St. Louis Blues on Thursday instead of agonizing over any butterflies.

Brodeur, 42, was asked how it felt to be in a Blues jersey.

"More and more comfortable," the goaltender said, before joking, "I think if they gave me a jersey that fits me, it would be perfect."

Is it too big?

"Yeah, it's too big," Brodeur said with a big grin that got media members laughing. "They gave me [Fox Sports Midwest color analyst Darren Pang's] practice jersey."

OTTAWA -- In his time with the Ottawa Senators, Daniel Alfredsson was as much a part of the landscape here as snow in winter, the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, and a chant about the archrival Toronto Maple Leafs that rhymes with make believe luck.

That Alfredsson, a central figure when the Battle of Ontario was at its peak, was so reviled by Maple Leafs fans only served to endear him even more to Senators supporters.

Through the ebbs and flows of Ottawa's return to the NHL, Alfredsson was the Senators' constant, rising to become their leader in just about every offensive category and its longest-serving captain.

He became active in the community, opening up about his family and mental health issues faced by his sister, Cecilia, and becoming the spokesman for the Royal Ottawa Hospital's campaign to remove the stigma from mental illness.

He was always there with a consistent effort on the ice and to answer for his and the Senators performances off it.

Alfredsson returned to Ottawa one more time Thursday, to announce his retirement after 18 NHL seasons, 17 of which were spent with the Senators.

Daniel Alfredsson was the face of the Ottawa Senators for almost two decades. The Gothenburg, Sweden native holds countless Senators records set during his 17 seasons playing for Ottawa and has a decorated international career.

Alfredsson on Thursday announced his retirement from professional hockey.

Here are some key dates as we look back at No. 11:

June 29, 1994 -- Selected in the sixth round (No. 133) of the NHL Draft by the Ottawa Senators.

Oct. 7, 1995 -- Made his NHL debut, getting his first point (an assist) in a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Longtime Ottawa Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson, who retired Thursday, compiled numbers that rank him at or near the top of players of his generation.

Here are a few that particularly stand out:

1 -- Alfredsson is the only player selected in the 1994 NHL Draft to reach 1,000 points; Patrik Elias (993 for the New Jersey Devils) could become the second.

2 -- Alfredsson finished with the second-most points from a Swedish born skater in NHL history, trailing Mats Sundin (1,349-1,157).

4 -- From when Alfredsson made his NHL debut to today, he ranks fourth in assists with 713. The players ahead of him are Joe Thornton, Jaromir Jagr and fellow countryman Nicklas Lidstrom.

MONTREAL -- Geoff Molson walked up to address the gathered media Wednesday, having had hours to emotionally absorb the horrible news that was delivered late the previous night.

The Montreal Canadiens president and principal owner began with a general comment on the passing of Jean Beliveau.

And the emotions came flowing back.

Following a comment in French, Molson said, "Before I get started I just wanted to say that our thoughts and prayers are with the Beliveau family today …"

Molson paused. He needed to compose himself.

He was speaking about the death of a man he said he considered to be a giant as a child, a man who had a relationship with his family that runs three generations deep.

As emotionally prepared as Molson might have been to face the public to speak of this sad event, it would have been impossible for him to be totally prepared.

This was hard.

ANAHEIM -- The picture has a timeless quality to it, even if Jean Beliveau's brown suit and green-and-red tie harken back to another era. There is Beliveau sitting on the boards, holding a young Vincent Lecavalier against a dark background of a hockey rink. Both are smiling.

The photo was taken at a hockey tournament Lecavalier's older brother was playing in, and it was the first time Lecavalier met Beliveau.

"I was very young, so I don't remember the moment exactly, but that picture's in my house back in Montreal signed by him," Lecavalier said. "It was a great honor to meet him. Obviously when I made it to the NHL, I met him a few times after that. [He's] just a nice person. He has a lot of respect for everybody, the way he treats people."

Lecavalier had a unique bond with Beliveau, the beloved Montreal Canadiens legend who died Tuesday at 83. He wore Beliveau's No. 4 since he was about 3 years old until he joined the Philadelphia Flyers -- the Flyers retired the number in honor of Barry Ashbee -- because Beliveau was his grandfather's favorite player. Lecavalier also played Beliveau in 2005 film "The Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story," which is about Beliveau's former Canadiens teammate.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- None of the players on the Montreal Canadiens roster are old enough to have seen Jean Beliveau play, but the death Tuesday of the hockey legend hit them hard.

Even goaltender Carey Price and defenseman P.K. Subban, who normally don't talk after the morning skate on a game day, were eager to share their thoughts on Beliveau, who won the Stanley Cup 10 times as a player and seven times as a Canadiens executive.

"We lost a family member," Price said Wednesday ahead of their game against the Minnesota Wild. "He's an outstanding citizen and a great ambassador for our hockey team and we're sad to see him go. He's the bar for being a Montreal Canadien. He set the standard for everyone else to follow and he'll always be remembered."

Subban tweeted Tuesday night that he met Beliveau when he was 10. It was then, he said, he knew he wanted to play for the Canadiens.

"What he means to hockey and the Montreal Canadiens, I don't know if words can describe it," Subban said. "We understand, especially the guys from Canada, fans of the Montreal Canadiens especially, and growing up a fan, we understand what he means to the Canadiens."

It was in 2002 at a hotel in Los Angeles, the day before the NHL All-Star Game, and some of the game's legends were taking their turn entering a reception hall.

I was speaking to Ted Lindsay, the Detroit Red Wings great, when Jean Beliveau, dressed to the nines, made his appearance.

All of a sudden the room went silent and everyone, without exception, turned their attention toward him.

It was as if time had stopped.

"For me," Lindsay said that day, "Jean Beliveau is, and always will be, the Pope of Hockey."

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- They never got the opportunity to play together as a trio at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, but when center Paul Stastny signed as an unrestricted free agent this past summer with the St. Louis Blues, the opportunity presented itself for an all-American line with United States teammates David Backes and T.J. Oshie.

Uniting the three wasn't immediately in the cards for coach Ken Hitchcock, who wanted to take a look at them in different fashions and with different linemates. Injuries also derailed any potential connection. Stastny sustained a shoulder injury the fourth game of the season against the Arizona Coyotes and missed eight games; Backes and Oshie each sustained concussions Oct. 28 against the Dallas Stars, with Backes missing one game and Oshie seven.

But in recent games, Hitchcock implemented the unit in order to get a boost for all three. The move seemed to spark each player's respective game.

The Blues (16-6-2) will need their American line and everyone else when they go up against the Chicago Blackhawks (15-8-1) in the Wednesday Night Rivalry Game (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

"I wanted to look at it at practice first," Hitchcock said. "I put a Swedish line out there; I had four guys from Sweden in one line. That's an American line, I got a Euro line because [Jaden Schwartz] plays like a Euro. I'm not sure … then I got a hound dog line [the fourth line]. I'm not sure what I got going, but I wanted to look at it. It was a good day."