The former Senators star jokes he and Darcy Tucker have "kissed and made up" after years of Battle of Ontario hostilities

Daniel Alfredsson is making himself at home in his new home.

Before settling into his new role as the associate coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the former Ottawa Senators captain had to mend some of the fences built up in The Big Smoke while he was on the other side of the Battle of Ontario.

While Alfredsson had his share of conflicts with the Leafs during his 18-year National Hockey League career, one of his most memorable moments was a hit on Toronto winger Darcy Tucker in Game 5 of the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference playoff semifinal in 2002.

After delivering a crushing blow to Tucker along the boards, Alfredsson scored the winning goal on the same shift, which helped to cement his status as a villain with Leafs Nation.

As we know, though, time heals all wounds.

“We kissed and made up,” Alfredsson quipped. “I ran into quite a few of them at the alumni golf tournament. Darcy played in the group in front of me.”

Did Alfredsson hit into him?

“He was too far ahead,” Alfredsson joked.

As he prepared to face the Senators for the first time on Saturday night since he left his role as an assistant on Travis Green’s staff to carve out a new career with the Leafs, the 53-year-old Alfredsson talked to the Toronto media following the optional skate at Scotiabank Arena.

Alfredsson, 53, inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 2022, stunned the hockey world by accepting the post with the Leafs after two full seasons on Green’s staff in Ottawa.

His decision not to stay with the Senators last spring left many wondering what happened, but Alfredsson noted that, when longtime friend Mats Sundin reached out after joining the Leafs front office himself, the idea became intriguing.

“I had a couple of conversations with Mats, they reached out to Ottawa and it started from there,” Alfredsson said. “I wasn’t very sure for a lot of reasons, but his passion and belief in this team kind of sold me. We had a relationship in the past, we’d played together and here we are.”

Alfredsson spent parts of three seasons with the Senators, but, before taking a leap of faith to join the Leafs, he wanted to make sure he had a meaningful role on head coach Jim Hiller’s staff.

“At first I wasn’t sure, ‘Can we do this?'” Alfredsson said. “Then we had more conversations and I talked with Jim Hiller. (I decided) if I want to be a coach, you have to experience different situations, different scenarios and different systems. That’s how it went in my head, ‘How can I evolve and get better if this is the road I’m going down?’

“The passion for the game in this country, in Ottawa and Toronto, there’s nothing like it. I’m very happy to stay in this market. It was a lot of thoughts back and forth because it was a quick decision, but, at the end of the day, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me, and I hope I can help the team.”

Not every great player can be a good coach.

In Ottawa, Alfredsson played a key role in helping to shape the careers of Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig and Thomas Chabot.

Alfredsson wasn’t sure he wanted to be a coach, but accepted an invitation to join Jacques Martin on the bench when Martin took over from D.J. Smith midway through the 2023-24 campaign.

The Leafs like the idea of Alfredsson being able to help captain Auston Matthews lead the Toronto club to the next level and to give an assist to top prospect Gavin McKenna.

“When you see players and you can help them, and you can see they can evolve and get better with time, that’s the most rewarding thing,” Alfredsson said. “It’s almost like you can compare it to your kids when you see them grow up. Then, when they become men, it’s ‘Jesus, I’m proud of him.’

“You’re trying to help all the players, it can be on the ice, it can be off it, the technical part, the tactical. I’ve always been curious about that as well. I’m always trying to learn who’s the best at this, who’s the best at that?

“I think I have a lot of stored information that I think I can convey to the next generation. That’s it in a nutshell for me.”

The way the schedule works, Alfredsson won’t face Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre until Jan. 20.

That visit will be different for Alfredsson, but it won’t be anything like his return with the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 30, 2013. He went to the rink with former Senators captain Erik Karlsson, then an Ottawa defenceman, that day and it felt strange when Alfredsson went to the Detroit room.

“The hardest one for me was probably coming back to Ottawa as a player when I played in Detroit for the one year,” Alfredsson said. “I remember riding in the car with Erik and going to separate dressing rooms.

“Just walking in, knowing that locker room was my home for so long. That was a difficult and emotional day. It won’t hit the same now as a coach in that respect, but being back in Ottawa will be emotional.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com