Assistant coach Daniel Alfredsson behind the Swedish team bench during the game against Canada in Montreal on Wednesday night. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis /GETTY IMAGES

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Daniel Alfredsson made his first official appearance behind enemy lines in the Battle of Ontario on Wednesday.

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The former Ottawa Senators captain and assistant was introduced to the good people of Toronto in his new role as associate coach of the arch-rival Maple Leafs during a Zoom call.

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He started by sending a message to the Ottawa faithful.

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“To the Ottawa fans: I love you as always, I understand this is an interesting day, but also an exciting chapter in my coaching career,” Alfredsson said from his summer home in Sweden, where he started off the call by thanking Michael Andlauer, Steve Staios, Travis Green and the staff for the opportunity.

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What was unthinkable is now reality. Alfie working for the Leafs? Toronto used to put a picture of Alfredsson on the scoreboard at Scotiabank Arena unprompted so fans would boo. Leafs faithful called him “Krusty the Clown” when Alfredsson’s flow was out of control.

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Alfredsson can feel the pain fans of the Senators are going through.

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“I totally understand it. There’s no question. From talking to friends and other coaches as well, it’s different when you coach; when I felt that this is the career I want to go down as a coach, I knew I had to move at some point,” Alfredsson said.

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“I have to earn my way and get experience. I’m sure in my dreams, would I have loved to stay and then become the head coach of Ottawa, maybe. 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.

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“They don’t hand out jobs easily in 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.”

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How was Alfie swayed toward Toronto?

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This doesn’t happen if Mats Sundin wasn’t hired to be the senior executive adviser to hockey operations in May with general manager John Chayka.

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Sundin and Alfredsson had serious battles over the years on the ice, but they also had a respectful friendship.

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Sundin was the captain of Team Sweden at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, when Alfredsson was the country’s leading scorer and helped lead the Tre Kroner to gold.

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Alfredsson’s contract with the Senators was up on June 30. He informed the club that he planned to move on and wanted a new challenge.

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He didn’t search for another job with a National Hockey League team, but interviewed for the Leafs head coaching job after Ottawa granted permission.

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“When I finished the season, I took some time, as always, to reflect and I kind of made my mind up that I’m not going to come back to Ottawa next year,” Alfredsson said. “I’m going to try to pursue different experiences, and my contract did expire at the end of June, and then I looked at opportunities inside and outside of the NHL for which path it was going to go, and this opportunity came up, and here we are today.”

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When the club decided to hire Jim Hiller to take over behind the bench, Sundin told Alfredsson he wanted him as part of the organization and was offered a role in management. That didn’t appeal to Alfredsson, but Hiller was encouraged to speak to him as part of the coaching staff.