There is a general rule in the world of live sports television: Don’t ask for an interview with a player who just made a terrible play on the ice.

Chances are, the request will be immediately shot down – either by the team’s PR staff or the player himself. I’ve had to make a lot of last-minute switches over the years, as would-be guests committed penalties and turnovers in the moments leading up to our interview.

So on Tuesday night in Calgary, I was thinking I might be in one of those situations. After Daniel Alfredsson scored to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead, I asked Sens PR man Brian Morris if the captain would join me in the second intermission.

But just before Alfredsson was scheduled to join me, disaster struck on the ice. After a botched play by Craig Anderson behind the goal, Daniel Alfredsson ended up putting the puck into his own net. At first it looked like the Flames player had scored, but multiple replays confirmed that Alfredsson had indeed just scored into his own net.

In my ear piece, my producer Paul Gris asked me if we should change up our guest. “Maybe we should avoid Alfie,” he told me.

I was starting to think about alternate guests. Maybe Chris Phillips, who was on the ice when that own-goal happened. Or maybe Zack Smith, whose family was in the seats in Calgary.

But I figured I would ask Brian Morris if we could stick with Alfredsson. I honestly wouldn’t have kept that request with any other player on the Sens roster. Alfredsson, however, is just a different guy; somebody who never ducks from a difficult question, no matter what the circumstance.

So as the Sens filed off the ice, Brian Morris stopped Alfredsson and asked him to do the interview.

Without hesitation, Alfredsson agreed to do it. He then looked at me and said, “Ian – I put that one in my own net.”

He almost had a half-smile of disbelief on his face. The fact that he brought it up to me 15 seconds before we went on air gave me the green light to ask him about the own-goal.

And so when Jeff Marek sent it to me, I said something along the lines of “Daniel Alfredsson has both goals in this hockey game…but unfortunately, one of them went in his own net.”

I didn’t get an icy stare in return, because Alfredsson had already defused the situation by bringing it up with me before we went on camera. So instead, it was the typical Alfredsson. He was engaging and more than willing to admit his error.

He thoroughly explained the play in detail and didn’t give me one of those five-second answers that occur when a guest is upset with the line of questioning.

I had a few people tweet at me after the interview, wondering how I could possibly ask Alfredsson about scoring into his own net. But when you have a chance to be around Alfredsson and understand what he’s really like, you realize that you can pretty much ask him about anything and you will get a gracious answer in return.

At the end of the night, after the Sens had won the game 3-1, I went up to Alfredsson and thanked him for doing the interview under those circumstances.

I told him that not many players would have agreed to speak on live television after scoring into their own net.

His response?

“Hey, I’m just happy to find the back of the net any way I can.”

Life without Daniel Alfredsson could start as early as next season for the Ottawa Senators.

Speaking to Sportsnet on the weekend, Alfredsson said he is preparing as though this season — his 16th in the National Hockey League — will be his final one.

“It all depends on how I feel, but I’m going to play like this is my last year and we’ll see how it goes,” Alfredsson told Sportsnet. “I think I approach it that way — that it could be the last one because you never know. I’m just going to give it everything I have and have no regrets looking back after.”

Alfredsson is under contract for the 2012-13 season, but will only receive $1 million to play as it is the final year of a front-loaded, four-year, $19.5-million contract he signed in October of 2008. However, Alfredsson does point out that if this year goes smoothly for him, he would contemplate returning for another season with the Senators.

“If at the end of the year, if I’m feeling good and the team is going in the right direction, I wouldn’t say that I wouldn’t play the following season,” Alfredsson added.

Alfredsson said the thought of retirement did not cross his mind during the summer, despite going through a rigorous rehabilitation process to recover from surgery to correct a nerve issue in his back. Instead, the 38-year old said that retirement crept into his mind during the 2010-11 season, when the injury took its toll on his performance. The usually-dependable winger saw his offensive numbers plummet to only 14 goals and a career-worst 31 points. That, coupled with the Senators’ descent into the basement of the Northeast division, had the captain contemplating the end of his playing days.

“It was more during the year. The way I felt, I couldn’t really pinpoint the problem. I really thought to myself, ‘This could be it,'” Alfredsson admits.

But after undergoing surgery in the middle of June, Alfredsson appeared rejuvenated at training camp last month. He did not show any ill-effects from the procedure and at this point, head coach Paul MacLean expects his captain to be available to him on most nights this season. Alfredsson is just two seasons removed from producing 71 points in 70 games and helping the Senators earn a playoff berth.

But expecting the Senators to reach the post-season in what could be Alfredsson’s last year appears to be a tall order for an organization that is trying to re-build itself. The Senators finished in last place in the Northeast division with 74 points and were out of the Eastern Conference playoff race by early January last season.

After that disastrous campaign, general Bryan Murray engineered a complete re-tooling of the club that has most experts picking Ottawa to finish anywhere between 12th – 15th in the conference. Alfredsson’s window to win a Stanley Cup in Ottawa appears to have closed, so the natural question becomes: Will Alfredsson ask for a trade to a contender at the deadline to pursue a championship in what could be his final season?

At this point, Alfredsson says that’s not his intention but the Ottawa captain does leave the door open for a possible trade this season, if it makes sense for both himself and the organization.

“That might change, but as of right now, I have no desire to do that,” Alfredsson said when asked if he would follow in Ray Bourque’s path. “I haven’t even thought about it that way. I’m committed to stay here, but who knows: things could change come February or March. But right now, I’d say ‘no’ to that question.”

Alfredsson says he feels an obligation to the community in Ottawa, where he has been the face of the franchise for the past 15 years. His tireless charitable work off the ice and his consistent production on the ice has made him a fan favourite in the nation’s capital. Last season, he became the first player in franchise history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau and he is a lock to become the first modern-day Senators player to have his jersey raised to the rafters of Scotiabank Place.

“I’m reluctant to go elsewhere because I’ve been fortunate to stay in one spot for so long. Even though I’d love to raise the Stanley Cup, I’d like it to be with Ottawa,” he explained. “I don’t know if that’s going to happen while I’m still playing, but who knows? I’m not going to rule out anything. I’m not going to close any doors. And that’s how I feel right now.”