Mats Sundin thinks Daniel Alfredsson is already fitting in the right way with the Leafs, and he believes the next step is coming fast.
Saturday’s game marks the first real Battle of Ontario since Alfredsson crossed over and joined Jim Hiller’s staff as an associate coach in Toronto. The full return trip to Ottawa is still three months away, but this one is a meaningful early test of how the move is being received on the Toronto side.
Sundin, now back with the Leafs as senior executive assistant to John Chayka, said the focus has been on what Alfredsson can add behind the bench, not on old flashpoints from the rivalry.
“He’s an icon and arguably the most important player in the Senators’ franchise,” Sundin said as he watched Alfredsson help run practice on Friday. ”But it’s not just the knowledge of the game he brings, it’s the values to help us get better.
“That’s the only thing we’ve been focusing on (not past incidents). That stuff (his heat-of-the-moment exchanges with Alfredsson and the latter’s playoff hit on Darcy Tucker) was so long ago.”
Sundin was also careful not to overstate his own role in bringing the former Senators star to Toronto. He said the Leafs knew Alfredsson was not likely to stay in Ottawa after July 1, and that the opportunity in Toronto made sense.
“We heard he was not going to re-sign after July 1 or stay there. So for us, he just saw a great opportunity,” Sundin said of his fellow Swede. “We have a lot of skill players and with his knowledge of being one himself in a Canadian market, with our top players and with Gavin McKenna coming in, we really believed it would help having someone on the ice on an everyday basis who’d be a great experience for our group.”
Thirty years after Sundin and Alfredsson were battling as captains on opposite sides of the provincial rivalry, the two are now part of a different kind of hockey world - one built around coaching and management. Sundin said that shift makes sense for where Alfredsson is now.
“Let’s hope so,” Sundin said. “I think Daniel understands that for us to have success is the (Scandinavian) team-first mentality, but keeping both (philosophies) in your head. You think ‘yes, I have to do my job, but also do the best for all of us to try and win hockey games.’
“He’ll bring that leadership.”
Alfredsson has been working with the forwards and helping Hiller on the power play. He was scheduled to speak Saturday morning, but Hiller already sounds like someone who knows exactly how excited his new assistant is for this one.
It’s Ottawa’s first game of the season, Toronto has two under its belt, and Hiller can’t wait to use Alfredsson’s perspective.
“We’ve talked in the pre-season (Alfredsson stayed in Toronto when the Leafs had a split-squad exhibition game), but it’s going to be a big night for him, let’s be honest. I loved the ovation he got from Leafs fans (when the staff was introduced on opening night),” he said.
“There was some talk about what it was going to be like, but I thought it was tremendous. His days have gone by as a player, now he’s one of our coaches. It’s full support from Leafs Nation.”
On the ice, Alfredsson is also involved in trying to get Toronto’s first power-play unit moving. There were no changes to that group or to any forward line on Friday. After the Leafs’ first win over the Islanders, the team had a day off and then came back to a lively practice, with Kirill Marchenko taking part in his first session since the Monday trade with Columbus.
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