In this story from THN's July 1st, 1993 edition, Alexandre Daigle agreed to a deal to try and help the Senators on the ice, but also agreed to another deal off the ice.
Thirty years ago, long before Connor Bedard was born, Alexandre Daigle was regarded as the very best draft-eligible player in hockey. As it was for Bedard, the scouting hype machine was cranked to 10 and Daigle was everybody's number one. He had game (in junior) and he had swagger, even suggesting that "No one remembers who gets drafted number two."
Uh, that would be Hall of Famer Chris Pronger.
Most fans know the story. The Senators drafted Daigle, as any team would have. He had a decent, average NHL career, but never achieved the superstar status that people expected.
What you may not know is that Daigle was a full-time Senators employee. As Steve Dryden wrote in our July 1st, 1993 edition, Daigle's big new deal with the club in 1993 actually included a lucrative marketing partnership with the Senators.
Step back in our way back machine that we call The THN Archive...
He was halfway up the stairs, within sight of freedom, when Alexandre Daigle was reminded of an earlier promise.
Daigle eluded the close checking of his personal publicist to return for one final interview on June 26. Seven hours earlier, he was named the student most likely to succeed in the class of ’93. And now all he wanted was dinner and time alone with his family. But first, he wanted to honor a commitment.
Another teenager might have bailed out, grabbed the life preserver thrown by his flak and continued up the stairs. Daigle chose, instead, to flash the smile destined to make a splash all across Canada and did one more interview.
Another PR specialist appeared quickly and Daigle politely dismissed him. The first reappeared and Daigle said, “Dix minutes.” It was the final 10 minutes of the longest overtime game in Daigle’s life.
And although he has prodigious stamina, Daigle looked emptier than the bank that will cash his paychecks. Gone were the starbursts in his eyes. Gone was the vibrancy Ottawa expects to energize its franchise.
Only the gel which keeps his hair glued in place remained equal to the challenge. He touched it, laughed, and admitted much of the minimum $12.5 million he will earn over the next five years will go to hair care.
The Senators and their marketing representatives would have it no other way. Busy days are ahead. By signing a contract that makes him the Senators’ marketing partner. Daigle has agreed to become the first “fulltime” hockey player in history.
He has made a commitment to the selling of the Senators in return for a contract that reportedly includes a $2 million signing bonus.
Most players could hold part-time jobs to occupy free time. Especially in the east where travel is not substantial. If things work out, Daigle will have little free time (it will all be revenue-generating time) during the duration of his five-year contract.
The meter will be running virtually non-stop and so will the Senators’ accountants as they divvy up the haul. Daigle and the Senators have a sharing provision in the contract that splits up whatever the 18-year-old center earns away from the rink.
“Everything goes into the pot,” Rod Bryden said.
The Senators’ vice-chairman said this arrangement should be felt by fans, who paid the NHL’s highest average ticket price ($46) this past season. “I’m not saying ticket prices are going to go down,” Bryden said. “I’m just saying we’ll be able to manage the cost better.”
The Senators are scheduled to move into a new building–the Civic Center only seats 10,800-in September, 1995. They are budgeted to make money over the next two seasons, but will finish in the red if they cannot play the 1995-96 season in the proposed 18,500-seat Palladium.
Ground-breaking is scheduled for August, but many obstacles have stood in the Senators’ way since they first announced plans to build. The most pressing remains financing. If you should have a spare $150 million, give the Senators a call. Another $30-plus million will buy you an interchange.
That’s the other thing Ottawa needs to finance so fans can get to their games. Even if the Senators build it, nobody will come without an exit from Hwy. 417. That would be a shame because many will want to see Daigle, as they did on, June 26th, 1 AD, the first day of Alexandre Daigle as an Ottawa Senator. ■
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