This is a sentence I never thought I’d write:
Daniel Alfredsson is joining the Maple Leafs. The Hall of Famer, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with Ottawa, has been named Toronto’s associate head coach, the team announced Tuesday.
It’s just incredibly weird. During the brutal “Battle of Ontario” – four playoff series in five years at the beginning of this century – Alfredsson and Mats Sundin led these bitter rivals. They were friendly and had a lot of respect for each other, but on the ice there was nothing but contempt and hatred between the two teams.
In January 2004, Sundin was suspended for one game when he threw a broken stick in disgust and it accidentally hit the crowd. The game he missed ended in a 7-1 loss to Ottawa, where Alfredsson’s stick broke and he faked throwing it into the stands. Senators fans liked it, Leafs fans…not so much.
Two years later, they won Olympic gold as part of the Swedish team, captained by Sundin.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by their reunion, but man, writing this story is crazy.
The Leafs also announced that Jon Gruden and Brad Werenka have been named assistant coaches, and Mike Van Ryn and Derek Lalonde will not return as assistant coaches next season.