The Toronto Maple Leafs made a hire that truly no one expected. It's something that boiled down, is one of the weirdest things to read when it comes to hockey in the province of Ontario.
Daniel Alfredsson is joining the Maple Leafs.
The Hockey Hall of Fame forward is joining the Leafs bench in an assistant coach role, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. It is the first hire of an assistant for Jim Hiller's bench since he was hired as head coach last month.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 7, 2026
Daniel Alfredsson joins Maple Leafs as assistant coach
Since he hung up his skates, Alfredsson has been poking around working in hockey in an off-ice role here and there. From being a senior advisor for the Senators for a couple years right after retirement, to then coaching some Double-AA minor hockey in Ottawa for a couple years, Alfredsson wasn't directly involved with a team but just hanging out, basically.
Then Alfredsson was hired as a development coach at the beginning of the 2023-24 season and in December during that season when they fired DJ Smith from the head coach role and appointed Jacques Martin as his replacement, Alfredsson stepped onto the bench as an assistant coach. He then remained on that bench and in that role even when the head coach switched to Travis Green, and has been there ever since.
And now, he's switching sides of the Battle of Ontario having the same job but for the enemy -- which is just so weird.
After seeing him battle it out with fellow countryman Mats Sundin during all of those years as the Leafs secured their dominance over their little brothers to the east, Alfredsson is now joining Sundin in a role with the Leafs. It is going to be heartbreaking for Senators fans to see a Leafs logo on Alfredsson's chest or him wearing a Leafs hat for the first time. But, oh well.
Hiller will have to fill out the rest of his bench before training camp gets going in a couple months.
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