Daniel Alfredsson inherits the Maple Leafs' most expensive unanswered question

Daniel Alfredsson is going to be tasked with helping the Maple Leafs power-play and turn them into a group worthy of their price.

Alfredsson was a surprise hiring by the Maple Leafs after spending three years as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators. Besides adding a new layer to the Battle of Ontario, Alfredsson is going to be assigned with helping turn around the Maple Leafs power-play.

Although they possess a litany of talent like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies - the power-play was a weak point for Toronto. After an eight-place finish in 2024-25 (24.8%) they slipped to 15th (21.3%), and the weaker power-play was a factor in Marc Savard's firing in late December.

Needing to get back on track, the Maple Leafs are going to need Alfredsson to assess who best fits the lineup and turn the man advantage into a dangerous unit. He's got the experience too, as he was one of the masterminds behind the Senators power-play that finished eighth this season (24%) and was also in charge when Ottawa finished 11th in 2024-25 (23.8%).

Ottawa ranks seventh over the past two seasons in PP% (23.9%) and now it'll be up to Alfredsson to use Toronto's immense scoring potential to his advantage. However last year only went 1-for-21 on the PP during the postseason so there were some rough patches as well.

Toronto has too many power-play weapons to have an unclear hierarchy

The team will have Darren Raddysh as the new blueline threat who can fire pucks at the net and his power-play production last year (26 points) was a big factor in Toronto signing him this summer. Auston Matthews will still remain the primary finisher, and he'll be a threat from multiple angles on the ice.

Matthew Knies can take over as the screener for Raddysh as he can use his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame to hide Raddysh's shot from goaltenders while being more than capable of finishing in close. William Nylander has to add some of that playmaking we saw last season and he can't just solely rely on being the finisher in a unit full of them.

Finally, we get to where Alfredsson and Hiller may have a harder time deciding - McKenna or Tavares. McKenna deserves a look to see what he can offer on the power-play, but Tavares has been a career killer on the PP with 391 of his points coming on the man advantage (167 goals, 224 assists).

It depends on if Hiller would prefer the creative potential of McKenna or the stability and consistency that Tavares offers on the power-play. He's not married to a decision, but he needs to be able to adapt on the fly.

If he prefers Tavares, then McKenna can slide into the second unit alongside Easton Cowan and potentially names like Nick Paul and Morgan Rielly so he'll have plenty of offensive chances there too.

Alfredsson must replace Marner's zone entries and puck distribution

But here comes one of the bigger issues that Toronto has had difficulty replacing, and that's the skillset of Mitch Marner. His absence removed their best puck-mover on the power-play and Toronto struggled to replicate that in 2025-26 with a variety of different players.

If Toronto struggled to get the puck in the zone, Marner would often take charge and keep possession until he managed to find an outlet. At that point, Toronto was deep in the zone and ready to take charge.

Marner's role can't simply be replaced by a player like Nylander because as much as he's a solid playmaker, it's the possession and attention to detail that separated Marner from the crowd.

With Matthews as the primary finisher, Alfredsson has to decide who is the best fit beside him.

McKenna offers creativity and playmaking though comes with zero experience at the NHL level. Nylander is a capable playmaker but is better suited as a finisher, meanwhile Raddysh is seen as a shot-first defender - not a passer like Morgan Rielly though he has proven to be an above average puck-mover in his own right.

John Tavares could be the solution given his high possession numbers, leadership, and power-play ability - he can gather the puck rather cleanly and control the offence until Matthews is in the clear - he's 35 but still an effective piece on either unit. He's not a replacement for Marner, but he's a great asset alongside Matthews.

There's more to Toronto's power-play than just scoring goals, and they need to be a unit that doesn't collapse when mistakes happen and manage to fight their way back into the zone with ease and not let those opportunities pass them up.

Daniel Alfredsson arrives with regular season success that is now improved with better shooters and a new power-play quarterback but still needs to establish a clear pair of units that are equally as dangerous while also proving that he can lead a successful postseason power-play group without crumbing under the pressure.

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