TORONTO – Daniel Alfredsson rolled into what used to be enemy territory last month.
asserted
what → roll → ?
The Maple Leafs’ new associate coach — and Ottawa Senators legend — had dramatically switched sides in the Battle of Ontario over the summer.
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coach → switch → summer
Toronto’s annual alumni golf tournament was his first official taste of blue-and-white life after playing a leading role in the white-hot, provincial rivalry of the early 2000s.
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tournament → play → 2000s
Fences, including with former Maple Leafs antagonist Darcy Tucker, were mended at the course.
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Fences → include → course
“We kissed and made up,” joked Alfredsson, who famously delivered a questionable hit on Tucker in the 2002 playoffs.
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who → kiss → playoffs
Hatchets now firmly buried, the Swede reflected on a move he didn’t take lightly after playing 17 of his 18 NHL seasons in the nation’s capital before spending the last three as an assistant coach there.
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he → bury → coach
“At first I wasn’t sure … can I do this?” Alfredsson said Saturday morning before Toronto hosted Ottawa at Scotiabank Arena.
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Toronto → do → Arena
But at the end of the day, I thought this would be a great opportunity.”
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this → think → day
Many fans in Ottawa, however, were stunned when he agreed to join Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller’s staff.
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he → stun → staff
“You gotta experience different situations and different scenarios,” Alfredsson said.
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Alfredsson → got → situations
“That’s where it went in my head, ‘How can I evolve and get better as a coach?'”
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I → ’ → coach
The first modern-era Senators player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — a Hail Mary, 133rd overall pick at the 1994 draft — Alfredsson still owns much of the franchise’s all-time record book, topping the list in goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108), while sitting second in games played (1,178).
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Alfredsson → induct → games
The 53-year-old former winger also holds Ottawa’s high-water mark for playoff goals (51), assists (49), points (100) and games played (121).
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winger → hold → goals
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“I enjoyed working with Alfie,” Senators head coach Travis Green said.
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Green → get → Alfie
“I wish nothing but the best for him personally.
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I → wish → him
From a team standpoint, I wouldn’t say the same thing, and they wouldn’t say that about us.
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they → say → us
But he’s a good coach and he’ll do well.”
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he → ’ → ?
“We really appreciated our time with him,” Senators captain Thomas Chabot added.
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Chabot → appreciate → him
Hiller said Alfredsson, who’s running Toronto’s power play, can offer different perspectives on and off the ice.
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who → say → ice
“He wasn’t one of those players that was a surefire, high draft pick,” Hiller said.
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Hiller → say → players
“He came from underneath, so a tremendous work ethic and drive and understanding of the game.”
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He → come → game
Hiller added the fact Alfredsson’s passion to coach after a long career as a star was appealing.
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passion → add → star
“He set himself up financially,” Hiller said.
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Hiller → set → himself
“He certainly doesn’t have to jump into this coaching grind …
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He → have → grind
I see a guy who’s just fully committed.”
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who → see → guy
Senators captain from 1999 through 2013, Alfredsson was one of the main actors — and the key villain from a Maple Leafs perspective — in the Battle of Ontario rivalry that saw Toronto best Ottawa in the playoffs four times in five years between 2000 and 2004.
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Toronto → see → 2000
“Seeing him in blue is a lot better than red and gold,” Maple Leafs defenceman and Toronto native Darren Raddysh said.
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Raddysh → see → red
Apart from that check on Tucker, Alfredsson got under fans’ skins for playfully mocking Mats Sundin — a friend, fellow Swede and now one of Alfredsson’s bosses in Toronto as senior executive adviser of hockey operations — after the Maple Leafs captain was suspended for throwing a broken stick into the stands in January 2004.
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captain → get → January
Ottawa was up 7-1 two nights later as Sundin watched in street clothes, and Alfredsson couldn’t help but troll the home crowd by fake hurling his own broken twig over the glass.
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Alfredsson → watch → glass
The boos never really stopped until he was introduced on opening night earlier this week.
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he → stop → night
“Wasn’t sure what to expect,” Alfredsson said of the reception.
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Alfredsson → expect → reception
“It felt great.”
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It → feel → ?
Also the first modern-era Senators player to have his number retired, he spent his entire playing career in Ottawa before a one-off with the Detroit Red Wings in 2013-14.
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he → have → 2013
Alfredsson, who won Olympic gold with Sundin in 2006, said that return was more of a challenge than anything he will experience this season.
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he → win → anything
“Knowing that locker room was my home for so long, a difficult, an emotional day,” he said.
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he → know → ?
“Being back in Ottawa will bring back memories, for sure.
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Being → bring → memories
I’m sure it will be emotional to some degree, but not the same.”
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it → ’m → degree
In the meantime, Alfredsson is still getting used to life in Toronto.
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Alfredsson → get → Toronto
“I love the energy,” he said.
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he → love → energy
“I thought I would be more incognito in the city, but they still remember my face … and I love it.
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I → think → it
…and 2 more, not listed.
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