Senators icon Daniel Alfredsson joins the Maple Leafs in shocking rivalry twist!

For anyone who lived through the ferocious Battles of Ontario since the early 2000s, this one is going to take some time to process.

According to Elliotte Friedman, Hall of Famer Daniel Alfredsson is expected to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as their new associate head coach. The longtime Ottawa Senators icon, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach in Ottawa, is reportedly making the jump to the organization that Senators faithful despise more than any other.

The Maple Leafs later confirmed the news, announcing that John Gruden, Daniel Alfredsson and Brad Werenka have been named to their coaching staff. Mike Van Ryn and Derek Lalonde are not returning as assistant coaches.

The sheer strangeness of this move cannot be overstated. Alfredsson and Mats Sundin were the captains who defined one of hockey's most bitter rivalries, leading their respective clubs through four playoff series in five years at the turn of the century. The respect between the two men was there, but the animosity between the franchises was even more real.

One moment perfectly encapsulates the dynamic. In January 2004, Sundin received a one-game suspension after flinging a broken stick that accidentally sailed into the crowd. He sat out a 7-1 Ottawa victory, during which Alfredsson's own stick snapped and he mockingly pretended to launch it into the stands. Senators supporters ate it up. Leafs fans had a very different reaction.

Two years after that infamous episode, the two rivals stood side by side as Swedish teammates, winning Olympic Gold in Turin with Sundin wearing the captain's letter.

That kind of shared history apparently paved the way for what is now happening in Toronto. Despite spending the bulk of his legendary playing career tormenting the Leafs, Alfredsson will now be tasked with helping them win.

The hiring adds a significant voice to Toronto's coaching staff. Alfredsson's three years behind the bench in Ottawa gave him valuable development experience, and his pedigree as a former captain and Hall of Fame player brings instant credibility to any room he enters.

In Ontario for the moment, Leafs fans will have to reconcile the image of one of their most hated rivals wearing blue and white. And Senators supporters will have to grapple with the sight of their beloved former captain working for the enemy. If nothing else, the next chapter of the Battle of Ontario just got a whole lot more complicated.