The Leafs held a video call with new associate coach Daniel Alfredsson on Wednesday.
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New Leafs associate coach Daniel Alfredsson understands that some Ottawa Senators fans are pained to see him switch sides in the Battle of Ontario.
“Yeah, I totally understand it,” the former Senators captain and franchise icon said during a video call with reporters from his home in Sweden. “There’s no question. I think from talking to friends and other coaches as well, it’s different when you’re a coach. I think 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. I have to earn my way and get experience.”
So, Alfredsson is moving down the highway to join the staff of new Leafs head coach Jim Hiller in Toronto.
“I’m sure in my dreams, would I have loved to stay and then become the head coach of Ottawa? Maybe,” said Alfredsson, who served as an assistant coach with the Senators the last three seasons. “But 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 and, you know, 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.”
In an opening statement before taking questions, Alfredsson addressed fans in the nation’s capital directly.
“Love you as always,” the 53-year-old said. “Thank you. I understand this is an interesting day. But also an exciting chapter for me as I expand my coaching career.”
Alfredsson thanked Senators owner Michael Andlauer, president of hockey operations, general manager Steve Staios and the coaching staff in Ottawa for the opportunity and for helping him learn and grow.
“Now I’ve caught the coaching bug, which I’m very happy about,” he said with a smile.
Alfredsson, who initially joined the Senators in a player development role, had his contract expire after last season.
“After I finished the season, you know, 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,” he said. “I’m going to try to pursue and get different experiences.”
Alfredsson looked at opportunities in the NHL and outside the league before zeroing in on the Leafs.
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Alfredsson interviewed for Toronto’s head coach position, which became open after Craig Berube was relieved of his duties in May.
“Obviously didn’t get that job and [they] came back a few weeks later and asked if I would be interested in another role within the organization,” Alfredsson said.
After interviewing with Hiller, Alfredsson felt Toronto was the right place for him to continue his coaching journey.
Alfredsson learned a lot from working with Senators head coach Travis Green and the rest of the Ottawa staff, but saw value in hearing new voices and expanding his repertoire.
Hiller served as Los Angeles Kings head coach before being fired in March. He previously worked as an assistant coach with the Leafs under Mike Babock.
“He really intrigued me with his knowledge and the style he likes to play,” Alfredsson said.
“I felt that it’s somebody I can learn a lot from. And, you know, as we kept talking, it kind of felt that this will be a great next step for my coaching career.”
In a statement announcing his new staff on Tuesday, Hiller highlighted Alfredsson’s track record.
“Daniel’s experience, leadership and understanding of the game speak for themselves,” he said.
John Gruden, who just coached the Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup title, and Brad Werenka, who most recently served as an assistant coach for the University of Calgary Dinos men’s team, will serve as assistants on Hiller’s staff.
Mike Van Ryn and Derek Lalonde will not be returning as assistant coaches next season, the team confirmed.
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Alfredsson worked with the power play in Ottawa and will also have that in his portfolio with the Leafs.
“I think they had some really good times last year in the power play and some tough ones as well,” Alfredsson noted. “Probably lost their confidence a little bit, but they have a lot of the tools to be a good power play and a good offensive team as well. So a lot of skill, guys that can shoot the puck. I look forward to working with them and see what we can accomplish.”
The Leafs finished 15th (21.3 per cent) in power-play percentage last season although the team did improve dramatically in that department after assistant coach Marc Savard was replaced by Steve Sullivan in late December.
The Senators ranked eighth in power-play percentage last season (24 per cent), but only converted once on 21 chances during a playoff sweep at the hands of the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes.
“I played power play my whole career,” Alfredsson noted. “There’s no secret recipe. I think you got to put them in good positions where they can succeed, give them a plan. I personally like to try to educate them and, you know, when you worked with them for a while, they know how to adjust themselves. But if there’s one thing I’ve gotten better at in Ottawa with the help especially of Mike Yeo and Ben Sexton, who helped me a fair bit, it’s all the small structure things, faceoffs, edge battles, winning pucks quick, the structure and the breakouts. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at that the last couple of years and that’s what I hope to continue to build on.”
William Nylander led the Leafs in power-play points last season (22) despite missing 17 games due to injury.
“I knew his dad [Michael Nylander], played with him and with the national team a fair bit, friends with him for a long time, been following William for a long time as well,” Alfredsson said. “He has grown into a very good player. There’s no question. He has some unbelievable tools that are hard to teach. I know he takes his game very seriously, his training very seriously as well.”
Alfredsson previously worked with Nylander at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February 2025 when he served as an assistant coach with Team Sweden.
“So I’m really excited to work with him and the whole team, to be honest,” Alfredsson said.
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Alfredsson is equally excited for the chance to work alongside former Battle-of-Ontario rival and Tre Kroner teammate Mats Sundin, who is now a senior executive advisor with the Leafs.
“We’ve kept in touch,” Alfredsson said. “We don’t live near each other in Sweden, but whenever we can, we try to hook up.”
When they do hook up, Alfredsson and Sundin don’t dwell on their old NHL battles or even their gold medal win with Team Sweden at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
“We haven’t talked a lot about the past, to be honest,” Alfredsson said. “But obviously, I think it’s great that Mats is involved again. I think he has so much to bring [with] leadership, experience. And, you know, his enthusiasm was really obvious in the talks I’ve had with him. You can tell he’s really excited about this opportunity and try to do something really good.”
The move to Toronto also means Alfredsson will be spending more time in the orbit of Darcy Tucker, who works as a Leafs team ambassador.
“We haven’t talked recently at all,” Alfredsson said. “But we have talked post-career and I think we recognize each other as both very competitive people. And, you know, we respect each other. I think a lot of people do in the hockey world, in general, we all love to have competitive people on our teams and he was definitely one of them.”
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We now know when Alfredsson will face the Senators for the first time as a member of the Leafs as Toronto revealed its exhibition schedule on Wednesday. It features two sets of split-squad games.
The Leafs will open up the pre-season on Saturday Sept. 19 with two games against the Montreal Canadiens before wrapping it up on Wednesday Sept. 23 with a pair of games against the Senators.
With the regular season schedule expanding by two games to 84, the pre-season slate has been cut to just four games, which is down from six to eight.
The full regular season schedule will be revealed on July 16.
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The Leafs social media team posted a video on Wednesday, which offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Gavin McKenna became the first overall selection in the draft.
The video shows general manager John Chayka travelling to McKenna’s hometown of Whitehorse to get to know the 18-year-old winger and his family.
“In order to win you have to play a lot of different ways,” Chayka told McKenna. “So, we’re not trying to overcorrect or anything. We just want to get back to allowing guys to do what they do best.”
