It will take some time to get accustomed to, particularly in Ontario. But the most iconic player in Ottawa Senators history has, in fact, joined the rival Toronto Maple Leafs.“I understand this is an interesting day,” Daniel Alfredsson said, delivering his opening remarks on a video conference call. “But also an exciting chapter for me as I expand my coaching career.”The Hall of Fame forward spoke Wednesday afternoon about the decision to take a job with Ottawa’s provincial rival in Toronto, where he will work as associate coach under Jim Hiller. Alfredsson thanked the Senators organization as well as its fans, while crediting the team for giving him the “coaching bug.”The Swede spent parts of the last three seasons behind the Sens’ bench as an assistant, working with interim head coach Jacques Martin and current head coach Travis Green while also specializing in the power play. Ottawa’s man advantage ranked eighth in the NHL this past year, but the team struggled to generate offense in the back half of its season. The Senators finished the 2025-26 Stanley Cup playoffs with the worst power-play conversion rate of all 16 teams, at 4.8 percent.NHL free agency: Early winners and losersShayna Goldman and Madison Eades“I think you’ve got to (put) the players into good positions where they can succeed, give them a plan,” Alfredsson said. “I personally like to try to educate them, and when you work 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 (assistants) Mike Yeo and Ben Sexton who helped me a fair bit, is all the small structure things. Faceoffs, edge battles, winning pucks, the structure in the breakouts.“I think I’ve gotten a lot better than the last couple of years, and that’s what I hope to continue to build on.”Alfredsson decided at season’s end that he wouldn’t renew his expiring contract to return to Ottawa, where he also spent all but one of his 18 seasons as an NHL player. Instead, he pursued opportunities around the league.The Maple Leafs then contacted the Senators to interview Alfredsson for their head coaching vacancy after they fired Craig Berube in May. The job ultimately went to former Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller, but the Leafs reached back out to Alfredsson about a role on Hiller’s staff, leading to an interview with his future boss.“I think it was the philosophy in the game he has,” Alfredsson said of Hiller. “His values. Obviously, he’s been a coach for a long time. And I think I just felt that it’s something I can learn a lot from. As we kept talking, it kind of felt that this would be a great next step for my coaching career.”In Toronto, Alfredsson acknowledged that working on the power play will be part of his responsibilities. He also has a prior relationship with William Nylander through the star winger’s father, Michael, a 15-year NHL veteran who skated alongside Alfredsson on the Swedish national team at numerous international tournaments.“I think he has grown into a very good player,” Alfredsson said of the younger Nylander. “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. I worked with him at (the 4 Nations Face-Off) for the first time and saw it firsthand as well. So, I’m really excited. Excited to work with him and the whole team, to be honest. But he’s a player that is very important to this team.The Maple Leafs boast offensive talents like Nylander, Auston Matthews, and the 2026 No. 1 pick in Gavin McKenna. But Alfredsson joins a team in need of a bump on its power play, which played a part in Toronto missing the playoffs last season. The Maple Leafs fired previous power-play coach Marc Savard last Christmas, when the team ranked dead last in conversion rate, before finishing the season at No. 15 thanks to his midseason replacement, Steve Sullivan.“I think they had some really good times last year in the power play, and some tough ones as well,” Alfredsson said. “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, so I look forward to working with them and see what we can accomplish.”Meanwhile, aside from a single season in Detroit at the end of his playing career, Alfredsson leaves behind the only NHL franchise he has ever known. Senators fans were already having a difficult offseason with team captain Brady Tkachuk requesting a trade before being shipped to the Florida Panthers last month. Now, their most adored player has left for a new coaching venture in Toronto. And it was something Alfredsson, who held roles as a senior advisor and then as a development coach with the Senators before transitioning behind the bench in December 2023, considered when talking to friends and other coaches.However, the Ottawa legend knew the development was necessary for his personal coaching ambitions.“I knew I had to move at some point. I have to earn my way and get the experience,” Alfredsson said. “I’m sure, in my dreams, would I have loved to stay and then become the head coach of Ottawa? Maybe. 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 they don’t hand out jobs easily at 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.”