"The Senators are going to spend this season trying to convince Daniel Alfredsson to stay.

While the NHL's longest-serving captain has been talking about the possibility this could be his last season, the Sens are hopeful by the end of the season it will be all talk and no action.

"We're going to try to influence (Alfredsson) to play as long as possible," said centre Jason Spezza. "The better the year we have as a team and as individuals, the more maybe he'll want to stick around.

"He's talked about (retirement before). He's said the last couple of years he didn't know if they were going to be his last. For him, it's a great approach. You know he's going to give it his all.""