After all the battles I had with Daniel Alfredsson over the years, I carry no animosity toward him.

Although my shoulder does at times.

Back in Game 5 of the 2002 playoffs, Alfredsson slammed me into the boards late in the third with the score tied 2-2. While I separated my shoulder on the play and no penalty was called, Alfredsson kept going and, seconds later, scored the game-winning goal.

There was criticism that it was a hit from behind, but I'll leave that for others to debate.

Listen, at the end of the day, the bottom line was that Daniel is trying to help his hockey club win the series and I'm trying to help my hockey club win the series. I didn't have the best reputation with the referees. And, basically, that's what it came down to. He made a hockey play, he finished his check -- unfortunately, I was injured on the play -- and they scored the winning goal.

He was trying to do whatever he could to win the game. And he did just that.

You have to respect the competitiveness with which the guy played. That was reflected in the play I just described.

Guess I should book my trip to Ottawa Dec.4th I'm sure Alfie would want me there on the big day #waitingbythephone — Darcy Tucker (@16DarcyTucker) November 26, 2014

And, as Alfredsson hangs up his blades on such an illustrious career and retires from the NHL, that, more than anything else, stands out for me when you mention his name: His competitiveness.

He was a competitor, that's for dang sure. He played hard every night and he was a lot more greasy than people gave him credit for. He knew how to play the game at a high level and he left it all out there at playoff time.

We had our skirmishes during all those memorable Battles of Ontario, sure, but I have a lot of respect for the man. He did a lot of great things for the city of Ottawa beyond just playing the game. Animosity is carried within the context of playing in a number of series like that against each other, but at the end of the day, you have to have a lot of respect for someone like that.

The sequence of events in that 2002 playoff game -- the hit and the subsequent winning goal by the Sens -- put us in a pretty big hole. But the guys rallied and won a big game in Ottawa. And then we came back and won a huge game in Game 7. We were fortunate enough to have a lot of depth and a great group of guys.

Still, even though we came out ahead in those playoff series against them, playing against Alfredsson and his Sens really took its toll on us. We could never go on to get the job done in subsequent series. We could never get over the bumps and bruises we suffered against them.

In all those Battles of Ontario, during games in Ottawa, we could hear how our fans would boo him whenever he touched the puck. In his own building, no less! He became the enemy, the villain for Toronto supporters whenever the Leafs and Sens clashed.

Hey, Leafs fans are a special group. They cheer for their team, no matter what. And when you get into heated rivalries like we had, every team has villains and personalities in the context of playing those games. And when you're competitive, you'll do whatever you can, whatever it takes, to help your team win. And he was that type of guy. He willed his team to win. You need guys like that.

When you look at the history of Swedes in the game, many of them are very similar. They're really well-spoken and smart. Mats Sundin and Daniel won a gold medal together at the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006. That sure spoke volumes about how competitive they were and the levels they could take their games to when the chips were down, that's for sure.

Whenever someone of Alfredsson's stature retires, you always hear questions like: "How will he be remembered? What kind of legacy is he leaving behind?"

Well, you look at the years in Ottawa and all the time and service he put in for that team and that city. He's in the Hall of Fame talk moving forward. He did a lot of things there where other guys in those scenarios wouldn't have been able to accomplish.

That's what made Daniel Alfredsson who he was: One of the top competitors I ever faced in the game. And for that, I truly respect him.

If Daniel Alfredsson was the top villain in the eyes of Leafs fans during those famed Battle of Ontario clashes of a decade ago, then Darcy Tucker definitely was Public Enemy No. 1 in Ottawa. Tucker now lives in the Toronto area and coaches his sons' hockey teams.