Tim Stützle isn't happy Daniel Alfredsson picked Toronto

Tim Stützle wasn't upset that Daniel Alfredsson left the Senators, but he was a bit peeved that he picked the Maple Leafs after Stützle implored him not to.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they had hired former Ottawa Senators captain and assistant coach Daniel Alfredsson to their coaching staff this summer, it created a seismic shift in the legacy that is the Battle of Ontario. A bitter rival now turned friendly, and the Senators lost a key part of their identity.

But no one seemed to be more upset about that decision than Tim Stützle. The German superstar is one of Ottawa's brightest talents and now with Brady Tkachuk out of town - a lot of the workload lies on his shoulders.

Stützle's warning shows how much Alfredsson's Toronto move still stings in Ottawa

Which is likely why he took umbrage with the fact that Alfredsson picked the Maple Leafs even after he implored him to go elsewhere. Stützle spoke to The Hockey News' David Alter during the NHL's European Tour and explained that while he wasn't upset that 'Alfie' left, he was not pleased with where he chose to go:

Me and Alfie, I think we always had a really good relationship. Obviously, I have tons of respect for him as a player, but also as a person. In what he says, it's always what he thinks. It doesn't matter if you like it or not.

I respect his decision, but I also told him any team but Toronto and Montreal, I would accept it way more.

You can't fault Stützle for feeling a bit slighted given that he certainly understands the weight of Alfredsson's move to Ottawa's biggest rival and how strange it will be to see someone so closely tied to Ottawa now helping one of its biggest rivals.

At least Stützle wasn't singling out the Maple Leafs, as he had the Canadiens in his no-go list as well, though like he admitted - there wasn't much he could do but accept it.

Toronto hired the coach who helped run Ottawa's eighth-ranked power play

With the history between the two teams going back over 30 years, there's always been a heated rivalry and for years Alfredsson was in the middle of it. He was always the nemesis of Mats Sundin despite both being Swedes, and now that both are together it ends an era of fighting and starts a new one working together.

Ottawa is already feeling the pinch of losing their captain, and have undergone a bit of a transformation while also needing to worry about potential future contracts.

The last thing they were hoping for was Alfredsson leaving for the Maple Leafs, considering it makes their Atlantic Division fight that much harder.

Alfredsson is not arriving in Toronto on reputation alone. He spent last season working directly with Ottawa's young forwards and helping run a power play that finished eighth in the NHL. Toronto is now asking him to bring that same structure to a unit that finished 15th.

Stützle's comments show that Alfredsson leaving the Senators had much more of an impact than just losing a coach. He was an iconic part of their franchise who helped grow the next era of Ottawa's lineup, and now gets to help the franchise he once spent years terrorizing on the ice.

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