Daniel Alfredsson, the former Ottawa Senators captain and assistant coach, made his first official appearance with the arch-rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, introduced as associate coach during a Zoom call from his summer home in Sweden.
Message to Ottawa fans
Alfredsson began by addressing Senators supporters directly. “To the Ottawa fans: I love you as always, I understand this is an interesting day, but also an exciting chapter in my coaching career,” he said. He thanked Michael Andlauer, Steve Staios, Travis Green and the staff for the opportunity.
The move, once unthinkable, sees Alfredsson working for a team whose fans used to boo him relentlessly—Toronto even displayed his picture on the Scotiabank Arena scoreboard unprompted, and Leafs faithful called him “Krusty the Clown” when his hair was unruly.
Understanding fan pain
Alfredsson acknowledged the pain Senators fans feel. “I totally understand it. There’s no question. From talking to friends and other coaches as well, it’s different when you coach; when I felt that this is the career I want to go down as a coach, I knew I had to move at some point,” he said.
He added, “I have to earn my way and get experience. I’m sure in my dreams, would I have loved to stay and then become the head coach of Ottawa, maybe. Nobody stays as a coach forever in one spot, no matter how popular you are. You’ve got to perform, and for me to get better as a coach, this is the path I knew at some point I had to move. They don’t hand out jobs easily in the NHL. It’s a tough job to get and when I had this opportunity, I felt it was the right one for my coaching career, without a question.”
Role of Mats Sundin
The move was facilitated by Mats Sundin, hired in May as senior executive adviser to hockey operations under general manager John Chayka. Sundin and Alfredsson, once fierce on-ice rivals, share a respectful friendship. Sundin captained Team Sweden at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where Alfredsson led the team in scoring and helped win gold.
Alfredsson’s contract with the Senators expired on June 30. He informed the club he wanted a new challenge and did not actively seek another NHL job but interviewed for the Leafs head coaching position after Ottawa granted permission.
“When I finished the season, I took some time, as always, to reflect and I kind of made my mind up that I’m not going to come back to Ottawa next year,” Alfredsson said. “I’m going to try to pursue different experiences, and my contract did expire at the end of June, and then I looked at opportunities inside and outside of the NHL for which path it was going to go, and this opportunity came up, and here we are today.”
After the Leafs hired Jim Hiller as head coach, Sundin told Alfredsson he wanted him in the organization and offered a management role. Alfredsson declined that but Hiller encouraged him to join the coaching staff.
