Staios: Alfredsson not a candidate in Sens' head coaching search
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Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios told reporters Friday that Daniel Alfreddson will not be considered for the team's permanent head coaching role at this time.
TSN's Claire Hanna reports Alfredsson believes that he will need to develop more should he continue down his coaching path.
Staios added that Ottawa is working through a list of candidates and expects to have a new bench boss in place after the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Alfredsson, a beloved franchise icon, officially joined the Sens' bench in December, coming in as an assistant under interim head coach Jacques Martin, who Staios tabbed to replace D.J. Smith after he was relieved of his duties along with assistant Davis Payne. The Senators announced Thursday Martin would move to advisory role.
Alfredsson and the Sens went 26-26-4 down the stretch of the season, improving slightly on the 11-15-0 mark they put up under Smith.
The 51-year-old is the Senators' all-time leader in goals (426), assists (682), points (1,108) and game-winning goals (69) while sitting just one game shy of Chris Phillips' games played record (1,179).
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Norris expected ready for camp
Staios also told reporters Friday that forward Josh Norris will be ready for training camp in the fall as he recovers from yet another left shoulder injury.
“I expect Josh [Norris] to be 100 per cent healthy both physically and mentally. We’ll support him on both sides of it," Staios said.
"He's a resilient young man," he added.
Norris' season officially came to an end on March 11 after he had surgery on his shoulder for a third time. The 24-year-old was injured while colliding with Nashville Predators forward Cole Smith in the second period on Feb. 27. The team initially said Norris would be out for an "extended period" before confirming the injury as season-ending roughly two weeks later.
"Normally, the recovery period is 4-6 months," Martin said in March. "When you look at the positive side, he should be able to have enough time to be able to start at training camp. It gives him some time to rehabilitate properly for the strength and everything, so what you're looking at is a fresh start next year."
Norris' shoulder limited him to eight game during the 2022-23 season and also caused him to miss time heading into 2023-24. In 50 games for Ottawa this year, Norris scored 16 goals and added 14 assists for 30 points.
He has 70 goals and 53 assists for 123 points in 183 NHL games spread out over five seasons with the club.