TORONTO — Daniel Alfredsson once walked into Toronto as the face Maple Leafs fans loved to boo. On Saturday morning at Scotiabank Arena, the former Ottawa Senators captain was preparing to help coach the home side against the club whose sweater he wore for 17 seasons.
The Hall of Fame forward is now an associate coach on Jim Hiller’s staff, with responsibility for Toronto’s power play. It marked the first regular-season Battle of Ontario since Alfredsson crossed the provincial divide in July, and the 53-year-old did not pretend the change in colours erased the past.
“I want good things for them, but a little more for us,” Alfredsson said before the 7 p.m. ET puck drop between the Maple Leafs and Senators.
His history with Toronto runs through some of the most heated playoff nights the rivalry has known. The clubs met in four straight postseasons from 2000 through 2004, and the Maple Leafs eliminated Ottawa every time. Alfredsson nevertheless supplied plenty of the flashpoints, particularly in the 2002 second round. In the final minute of Game 5, he drove Darcy Tucker into the boards and then buried the deciding goal moments later.
Two years after that, Alfredsson set off another wave of jeers by miming a stick toss into the crowd at the Toronto rink, a pointed response to Mats Sundin’s real stick-throwing incident in the preceding game. Sundin had been suspended by the NHL.
Those old grudges have softened. Alfredsson laughed that he and Tucker have repaired their relationship, recalling that Tucker was one group ahead of him at a Maple Leafs alumni golf event. Asked whether he had hit a shot into Tucker’s group, Alfredsson said Tucker had been out of range.
Sundin and Alfredsson also moved beyond their playoff-era friction years ago. They helped Sweden capture Olympic gold in 2006, then joined Nicklas Lidstrom in the management group for Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
A new role in an old rivalry
Sundin’s arrival as a Maple Leafs senior adviser in May helped set the stage for Alfredsson’s move. Alfredsson’s Senators assistant-coaching deal expired June 30, and he wanted a job with broader responsibility. Toronto offered that opening.
He admitted he initially had to consider whether joining the Maple Leafs was a move he could make. But the chance to see new systems, work in a different environment and develop as a coach won out. If coaching is his path, Alfredsson said, he felt he needed exposure to more situations than one organization could provide.
Hiller has been encouraged by both the work and the motivation. The coach noted that Alfredsson has the financial security to avoid the grind of an NHL assistant’s job, making his commitment all the more meaningful. In Hiller’s view, Alfredsson is doing it because of how deeply he still cares about hockey.
Toronto supporters gave their former rival a strong reception before the club’s season opener, a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Alfredsson said the welcome felt good, especially after a shortened but intense training camp for players, coaches and staff.
He has also been surprised by how quickly he has become recognizable around his new city. Alfredsson said he expected to blend in more easily in Toronto, but has been noticed often and has enjoyed the interactions. He recently moved into his Toronto home, with his wife Bibi and youngest son, William, joining him Friday. William is one of the couple’s four sons.
Alfredsson called the first month hectic but said the transition has gone more smoothly than expected. He intends to stay visible in the community, understanding that an NHL season brings difficult stretches as well as good ones.
There was still a familiar Ottawa thread to the morning. As Senators players left the ice, Alfredsson exchanged fist bumps with veterans Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux. Ottawa coach Travis Green, who worked with Alfredsson for two years, called him a friend and a capable coach, while making clear he did not wish him success against the Senators.
The next chapter will come Jan. 20, when Toronto visits Canadian Tire Centre. Alfredsson will be behind the visitors’ bench, beneath the No. 11 banner Ottawa raised for its first retired number. He remains the Senators’ career scoring leader, posting 1,108 points on 426 goals and 682 assists across 1,178 games.
Alfredsson expects that return to be emotional. Saturday in Toronto carried its own weight: a one-time villain now helping direct the power play for the other side of the Battle of Ontario.
