Alfredsson has quiet leadership presence with Red Wings

The Detroit News underlines how invaluable Daniel Alfredsson's presence has been for the Red Wings this season, especially with veteran leadership like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg having been sidelined at times with injuries.

“He speaks up when he needs to,” said teammate Johan Franzen. “He’s good like that. He’s not the guy who’s going to sit there and throw out clichés all night long. But if someone needs to step up and say something, he’s been doing it.”

Defenseman Brendan Smith pointed to Alfredsson's experience being relayed to the younger players on the roster.

“A lot of times it’s just little things that we’re not thinking about,” Smith said. “Sometimes it’s about turnovers at our blue line. Or maybe he’ll notice something about the goalie that nobody else will notice. Or talking about a D-man who’s having a rough night, telling guys to take him wide. Just stuff like that.”

Source: John Niyo, Detroit News