Alfie non-committal about candidacy to be Senators next head coach

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Daniel Alfredsson hasn’t given any thought about throwing his hat into the ring to be the Ottawa Senators’ next head coach.

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But the most prolific player franchise history, who went behind the bench as an assistant to interim coach Jacques Martin in late-December, knows exactly what the club needs to find in its search for a new bench boss.

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“There’s different ways to go with coaching. You want a winning coach. That doesn’t mean anything but that’s the best answer,” Alfredsson said Thursday before the club faced the St. Louis Blues at the Canadian Tire Centre.

“I can’t say there’s one person that would fit perfectly. The management will do their search and they’ll look at every attribute the candidate has and choose accordingly.”

So, does Alfredsson the assistant have any interest in being the club’s head coach when Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, formally starts his search?

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Working closely with Martin along with associate coach Jack Capuano plus assistants Ben Sexton and goalie coach Justin Peters has been a learning experience.

“To be honest I haven’t really thought about it,” Alfredsson said. “It’s been very good and steep learning curve for myself on the coaching side of things. I haven’t thought that far ahead to be honest.

“I’m learning every day, I’m lucky to be around two coaches who have been head coaches for a long time with Jack and Jacques. Ben and Justin have been great with me as well by helping me out with a lot of stuff by teaching me the coaching side.

“It has intrigued me more than I thought but at the same time I don’t know where I’ll go after this year.”

There is no doubt if Alfredsson has interest in being the club’s next head coach then all he has to do is tell Staios and senior vice-president Dave Poulin there’s a level interest in the job full-time.

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Owner Michael Andlauer and Staios, who get along so well because they think the same way, have a tremendous amount of respect for the 51-year-old Alfredsson and if he wants an interview he’ll get consideration.

But when Alfredsson agreed to go behind the bench to help support Martin, there was no long-term contract in place. Both agreed to do it until the end of the season an interim basis and then Alfredsson would sit down with Staios to determine where he best fits in the organization.

Despite the challenges this season, Alfredsson has enjoyed the job.

“It’s opened up a perspective for me that I didn’t see and appreciate before about how hard they all work,” Alfredsson said. “They put in the dedication. It’s the same thing, when you’re not having success it’s not easy sometimes.

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“They’ve been great role models and I’ve learned a ton these last few months.”

Alfredsson has gotten his baptism by fire in a coaching role. He’s learned first-hand that despite all the success he had in his Hockey Hall of Fame career that’s not always easy to pass along to the players.

The power play is ranked No. 26 in the National Hockey League with a 16.9% success rate and that’s an area Alfredsson has spent countless hours working on.

There have been lots of speculation about who might be the club’s next coach. Staios plans to formally begin his search in the off-season, but we believe John Gruden of the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies is one of the top candidates for the post.

We also believe former Blues’ coach Craig Berube, who led the club to a Stanley Cup in 2019, will get strong consideration along with former Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason and former Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan.

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The talk is Philly assistant Brad Shaw and Boston assistant Chris Kelly will be candidates. Names such as Pittsburgh assistant Todd Reirden and former Rangers’ coach Gerard Gallant may be on the radar screen while others may come available at the end of the season.

Alfredsson said no matter who is the coach next season this group needs to play well at both ends of the ice. That’s a foundation of the game that he and Martin have been working on.

“The biggest thing for any good team is structure,” Alfredsson said when asked what defines a winner? “You’ve got to be good defensively, but in today’s game you’ve got to be able to score as well. It’s a fine line. There’s different ways to do it if you look at the top teams.

“I don’t think there’s only one way. You’ve got to have a mix and a guy that can communicate with the players.”

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This has been a difficult, frustrating year for everyone and the finish line is close.

“We have to compete every night,” Alfredsson said. “We all know that the season has different stages and teams are going into the playoffs fighting for positioning. The pace is up, the intensity is up and the physicality is up if you compare to earlier in the season.

“We’ve got to match that and go out every night. We’ve got to set a standard of what we expect game in and game out. Also guys are playing for jobs going forward.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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