What a restructured Leafs power play could look like under PP coach Marc Savard
How will new assistant coach Marc Savard impact a new-look power play strategy for the Maple Leafs?
The Toronto Maple Leafs shook up their bench this offseason as they fired head coach Sheldon Keefe, replacing him with a new head coach, Craig Berube, who essentially came in and cleaned house behind the bench, save for Mike Van Ryn, who remains with the Leafs from the old regime.
Berube took his time with his search for a new staff in Toronto, ultimately hiring former Islanders head coach Lane Lambert and former Flames assistant coach Marc Savard to complete his crew.
Savard brings a fresh look to a Maple Leafs power play that is in dire need of some consistency. The question is, how will he make his presence known, and what will the power play look like under the ex-Flames assistant.
The Maple Leafs' power play under Guy Boucher was very up and down. It showed tremendous upside many times in the regular season, but often went extremely cold for long stretches of time, especially in the playoffs.
The former Calgary Flames assistant coach led the Flames to a 17.9% power play, which was good for 26th in the league in the 2023-24 season. Not exactly all that flashy. However, his work in St. Louis under Berube was much better and with that familiarity there, Berube has little doubt that Savard will add value to the team's struggling power play.
For those who are worried about Savard running the power play, just remember that he was in Calgary when he finished 26th. He'll have considerably more skill and multiple shooting threats at his disposal in Toronto.
Savard was an offensively gifted player during his playing career. He was a fixture on many teams' power plays and put up multiple 60+ assist seasons during his time as a player in the NHL.
I'd imagine that we can likely pencil in Matthews, Marner and Nylander on the top PP unit this year under Savard. What will be interesting is what he does with Tavares, who has shown some signs of slowing down. Could we see a scenario in which Tavares ends up centering the 2nd unit? It's entirely possible.
If Tavares does shift down to PP2, Max Domi could certainly benefit from some PP1 time with his excellent vision and solid playmaking abilities. Domi is also not afraid of playing in the dirty areas, so he could cause some chaos in front of the net, where Tavares typically plays. However, he can also play one of the flanks, looking to set up the shooters either on the point, in the slot or across the ice on the opposing flank.
Matthew Knies and Nick Robertson are also worthy of some consideration for PP1 time if JT does shift down to PP2.
On the point, we could very well see Oliver Ekman-Larsson take reps in Morgan Rielly's usual spot on PP1. Why? Because he has a legit shot from the back end. OEL has produced double digits in goals 7 times in his NHL career and has flirted with 10 goals on two additional occasions.
Time will tell how the Leafs proceed here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the PP units shake out like this to begin the 2024-25 season:
Nylander/Mattews/DomiEkman-Larsson/Marner
Knies/Tavares/McMannRielly/Jarnkrok
Source: MapleLeafsDaily13-year NHL veteran Marc Savard reportedly joining Maple Leafs
| POLL | ||
13 JUILLET | 476 ANSWERS What a restructured Leafs power play could look like under PP coach Marc Savard Do you think Marc Savard will split up the Core 4 on the Maple Leafs' power play? | ||
| Yes | 329 | 69.1 % |
| No | 88 | 18.5 % |
| Unsure | 59 | 12.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
