I showed Alex Daigle the autographed photo. It’s a big print – 11” x 14”. He is on the ice, wearing a black Pinnacle jersey.
His eyes light up and a smile fills his face from east to west.
“I remember this photo shoot,” he said. “We did a promotional photoshoot for Pinnacle in Laval. It was before the draft.”
At that point, Alex Daigle called his kids over to show them. His kids are all teenagers. Like their parents, they are exceptionally nice people.
“I was only 17 when we did these photos,” he said. “I am close to the same age as them.”
For me, it was one of those moments where I realized that, as far as being a collector and a sports fan are concerned, I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I have a part time gig as the host and bartender for the Ottawa Senators alumni at their home games. Here I was, watching Connor Bedard of the Blackhawks play for the first time in my life, and I was watching him and chatting with Alexandre Daigle and Radek Bonk.
Everyone was excited that Alex Daigle was coming in from Montreal with his family that night. Bonk and Jason York chatted with home throughout the night, sharing old stories. A steady stream of Senators executives dropped in to say hi.
I knew that at some point, I would have to have “the talk” with Alex. I was a bit nervous. I didn’t want him to hate me.
Midway through the second period, I had my chance.
“Okay Alex, full disclosure,” I said. “I was the hockey brand manager for Pinnacle.”
He gave me a look of surprise.
“Don’t worry, I had nothing to do with the nurse’s outfit. That was before me. Well, sort of. When the ad with the nurse’s outfit came out, I was the editor of Canadian Sportscard Collector magazine. We were the first magazine anywhere to run the nurse’s outfit Pinnacle ad.”
He smiled, kind of sheepishly. I thought even bringing it up might set him off, but it didn’t.
“I didn’t know any better,” Daigle said. “I was young, like 18 years old, and I was overwhelmed. There were people saying put this on and put that on. I had no one with me to protect me and say no. They were paying a lot of money so I thought I had to do what they told me to do.”
The advertising agency hired by Pinnacle came out with a “guaranteed scarce” campaign. Seeing Alexandre Daigle in a nurse’s outfit, somehow, was rare or scarce. They also had an ad with Daigle in a number of costumes. The only chance to get him in an NHL uniform was in Score. That was a shot at how they had him in an NHL uniform while the other companies had him as a junior with Team Canada.
Daigle was mocked mercilessly after the ad came out. He was mocked by fans, opponents, and even collectors. At that time, magazines like Canadian Sportscard Collector and Beckett Hockey were mainstream because of the popularity of the hobby and the fact that the internet was in its infancy.
“That ad really put a target on my back,” he said. “That was the worst part of it.”
Daigle’s contract with the Senators was an unusual one. He signed a five-year deal for $12.25 million. The deal included Daigle’s marketing rights. The first big deal that was reached under the contract was a spokesman deal with Pinnacle. Daigle would become the face of the company, regardless of whether he was wearing a nurse’s outfit, a Napoleonic military uniform, or his Ottawa Senators uniform.
Daigle’s deal and that draft changed hockey. The Senators were accused for tanking to secure the rights to Daigle. Players I have talked to from that season vehemently deny the allegation. In reality, the team just wasn’t very good. As a result, the NHL draft lottery was implemented the following season.
Daigle’s contract, which was tied up in the deal with Pinnacle, would never happen again. Before long, a rookie salary cap was implemented.
When I worked at Canadian Sportscard Collector and then at Pinnacle, I never found out exactly how much they paid to have Daigle as their spokesman. I did know that the company loved to toss around big bucks for its spokesmen. A lot of that had to do with packaging rights. Pinnacle led all trading card companies in retail sales. When you are trying to stand out on the hobby shelf at Target or Walmart or at a convenience store, the athlete on your packaging makes a difference. The one thing Pinnacle head honcho Jerry Meyer really understood about the retail sector of the industry was how much packaging drove sales.
When Daigle was the first overall draft pick of the Senators, I was able to interview him for a cover story for a Canadian Sportscard Collector cover story. “Alexandre the Great” was the headline on the cover.
The next year, we did a cover story on Radek Bonk at the draft. “Radek-al” was the headline. Remember, it was the 90s, so it made sense at the time.
“I can’t believe I interviewed both of you when you were 17 and you don’t remember me,” I said to them jokingly. Over the past few years I have gotten to know Bonk fairly well. His son Oliver, a first round draft pick of the Flyers last year, was a regular in the suite from the time he was about 12 years old.
Before I went to Dallas to work at Pinnacle on a full time basis, I did some contract work for them. I wrote a lot of their card backs. I don’t really think about it when I am with ex-players who played in the 1990s, but I wrote a lot of the card backs for the cards of Daigle, Bonk and many others who make their way into the alumni suite.
“I have kept all my cards,” Daigle said. “It was really exciting to see yourself on a hockey card. I remember when I would see new ones coming out. I saved all of those things because I want the kids to have them some day.”
Return to Ottawa
To say that Alex Daigle is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet is an understatement. When he was drafted in Ottawa, he was looked upon as the hockey saviour. He was thrust into that pressure as an 18-year-old. The demands and expectations were unfair. And don’t forget the target on his back for dressing up in a nurse’s outfit.
That wasn’t the only thing he took heat for. Daigle, who has a quirky sense of humor, made the comment in 1993 that “nobody remembers who the second pick is.” He took a lot of abuse for that comment over the last 30 years. When he was drafted first overall, the second pick was Chris Pronger.
Daigle doesn’t regret the comment, as he meant it jokingly. Unfortunately, it didn’t come across that way. And as Chris Pronger inched his way to becoming one of the best defensemen in the NHL, that quote was used against Daigle by the media continually. Daigle, Pronger, Paul Kariya and a number of NHL stars played were teammates for Team Canada at the world Junior Tournament just six months earlier.
Daigle played well in Ottawa. The problem was that the fan base was expecting him to be the next Mario Lemieux. The Senators loved that he was flashy, exciting, and bilingual which would be attractive to the Senators’ fan base. Ottawa is on the Quebec border, and many of their new fans were from Gatineau, Quebec across the Ottawa River. There are also many smaller French-speaking hockey mad towns in close proximity to Ottawa.
The Quebec Nordiques, however, wanted Daigle too. While working at the draft that year, the media members caught wind of a proposed deal that the Quebec Nordiques had proposed. The offer included a multi-player package that included Peter Forsberg, Todd Warriner and Owen Nolan, as well as Quebec’s first-round draft pick and cash. The Senators wanted to hang onto the pick and the likelihood of landing Daigle.
Although the franchise did not win a Stanley Cup until it moved to Denver just a few years later, that deal may have crushed the team’s future.
Fans Give Daigle Love
As a member of the Senators’ staff came into the suite to grab Alex, he had a bit of a nervous look on his face as he walked out the door. He came back a few seconds later and got his kids.
The Senators were doing a welcome back montage featuring Daigle on their jumbotron. They would then show Alex waving to the crowd .
Alex didn’t say anything, but the look on his face told everything that needed to be said. He was worried. What if he gets booed? Maybe they won’t boo him if his kids are with him? You realize then that we unfairly see Alex Daigle as a player who didn’t live up to expectations, or as a guy who is on a bunch of hockey cards that aren’t worth as much money as we thought they would be.
Seeing the look on his face at that moment told me the story of Alex Daigle. He was human. He was sensitive. He worried for his kids. But most of all, how he was treated by Ottawa fans on his way out of the city hurt, and that hurt never went away.
They showed the montage of his career highlights. It was very well done. Then they welcomed him and there he was with his kids, nervously waving to the camera while everyone looked at the jumbotron.
There were cheers. It wasn’t as loud or passionate as we would have liked. But more importantly, there were no boos. Not one. I was so happy and so relieved for Alex.
Once word got out that he was in the building, fans were scrambling to find him to get a selfie with him. Team employees and executives that were around 30 years earlier came in to give him a hug and say hi. Regardless of the fact that he was not the next Mario Lemieux, he was a person that everyone loved and couldn’t wait to see and say hello to.
Not Really a Bust
Last season, I had a bit of a chat with Alex and he talked about how people in Ottawa and the NHL refer to him as a bust.
“I don’t really think I am a bust,” he said. “I played 616 games in the NHL. I had more than 300 points. I played professional hockey for 16 years.”
I shared a bit of my story as a football player with him. As a college football player in Canada, I was the 17th rated player heading into the CFL Draft. On draft day, I waited, and waited, and waited. My name was never called. I was the best punter in the country, and they say that punters never get drafted. But two other punters were selected. There was word I was going down to the USFL or NFL. I kicked a 67 yard field goal in front of scouts in Washington.
For all of the tryouts I had, my pro career was zero games. I ended up playing semi-pro football in places like Watertown, NY and Lockport, NY. We rode the buses and played in cities like Syracuse, Scranton, Binghamton, Erie, PA, Racine, WI, Kokomo, IN, Toledo, Dayton, York, PA, Utica, Albany. If you look at the minor leagues for any sport, they all go through the same places.
I guess, I explained, that would make me the worst player in the history of Canadian football. I didn’t even get in a game and I rode the buses and played minor league football for nearly 20 years.
“You’re not a bust,” I told Alex, smiling. “I’m a bust. You’re not even close.”
We shared a bit of a laugh.
And as much as some call Daigle the biggest bust in draft history, he was far from it. He scored 20 goals as an 18-year-old rookie. In a lockout shortened second season, 19-year-old Daigle had 37 points in 47 games. He slumped in 1995-96 with five goals and 12 assists in 50 games, but bounced back in 1996-97 with 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points.
The New York media is still trying to sell the hockey world on Alexis Lafreniere of the New York Rangers becoming a superstar. In four season, Lafreniere has played 298 games and has 75 goals and 73 assists for 148 points. His numbers are no better than Daigle’s, and he has been surrounded by top notch talent. Daigle and fellow rookie Alexei Yashin joined an Ottawa Senators team that, the year before, was one of the worst in NHL history.
The only disappointment of the night was that Connor Bedard, playing on the ice in front of us, did nothing that game. There were no highlight reel goals or spectacular plays. The Sens shut him down, and they shut out the Blackhawks. We just happened to catch Bedard on a night of mediocrity tucked into their six-month regular season.
At the end of the game, I told Alex and his family that they could stay in the suite for a while after the game so that they would not have to merge into the large crowd of a sold-out game leaving the arena. He was relieved and appreciative.
After the crowd thinned out, it was time to go. We shook hands, gave me a smile, and said that he would be back next season. He gave his old teammates “Bonkie” and “Yorkie” hugs and hearty handshakes.
I came home and flipped through binders of my early and mid 1990s cards. The Alex Daigle cards aren’t really worth much. Then again, in that era, none of the cards are worth much.
I don’t care how much my Daigle cards are or aren’t worth. In my life as a sports journalist, hobby magazine editor, hockey card executive, brand manager and product development specialist, photographer, and a decade of working at Ottawa Senators games, I cannot recall meeting a kinder, more genuine and more humble person that Alex Daigle.
That’s what I will think when I look at his cards.
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