13-year NHL veteran Marc Savard reportedly joining Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs may be preparing to announce a very significant addition to the organization, as Marc Savard may be on his way to Toronto.
As we approach the long weekend, the Maple Leafs have still not yet named a new head coach, though it is expected that Craig Berube could be announced as early as Tuesday.
When the Leafs terminated Sheldon Keefe following his first round loss to Boston, no mention was made of what might happen with the rest of his coaching staff. However, with today's news about Savard potentially coming to Toronto, it would appear that the changes behind the bench don't end with Keefe leaving.
The news comes from the Barn Burner podcast, a Calgary Flames program, with co-host "Boomer" suggesting that his sources has informed him that Savard is indeed off to Toronto, though nothing is official yet.
Savard ran the power play as an assistant coach in Calgary last season, so it's reasonable to expect that he might be in line to replace Guy Boucher in Toronto as the team's power play coach if such a deal does materialize for Savard. His success rate on the power play was just 17.9% in Calgary last year, as TLN's Joseph Zita points out here.
During Savard's playing days, prior to his career being cut short due to a severe concussion, he was a highly skilled player who generated a ton of offense for the Atlanta Thrashers and Boston Bruins. He also enjoyed some smaller success with Calgary and New York before his tenure with the Thrashers and Bruins.
Savard posted a career-high 97 points with Atlanta back in 2005-06, following that up with a 96-point season in his first season in Boston in 1996-97.
Savard was a member of the Bruins when they won the Stanley Cup back in 2011, but he was limited to just 25 games that season due to his post-concussion issues. He would retire shortly thereafter.
If Savard really is coming to Toronto, I'd imagine we'll hear more about that this weekend and into next week.
| POLL | ||
MAI 17 | 435 ANSWERS 13-year NHL veteran Marc Savard reportedly joining Maple Leafs What do you think of the Leafs potentially hiring Marc Savard as an assistant coach to run the power play? | ||
| Love the idea, he was a good player | 174 | 40 % |
| Not sure it's the best choice with his PP% | 120 | 27.6 % |
| It can't be any worse than Guy Boucher | 141 | 32.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
