The Toronto Maple Leafs Add Another Coach to Craig Berube's Staff
It has been long rumoured dating back to when the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube and the team confirmed the rumblings with an announcement on Sunday afternoon that the franchise had added Marc Savard to the coaching staff.
Savard joins the Toronto Maple Leafs during an off-season that has seen the additions of Lane Lambert and Berube to the bench who join returning coach Mike Van Ryn.
The move comes days after the announcement that special teams coach Guy Boucher would not be returning to the team.
The club had previously parted ways with Sheldon Keefe, Manny Malhotra and Dean Chynoweth, leaving just Van Ryan returning to the bench.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Add Another Coach Added to Craig Berube's Staff
Savard had served one previous season working under Berube's coaching roster in St. Louis. The former Oshawa Generals star was behind the bench with the Blues during the 2019-20 season where he was responsible for the powerplay.
After one season he took on the head coaching position with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League and in his first season in Windsor he led the Spitfires to the OHL Championship where they lost to the Hamilton Bulldogs in seven games.
After two seasons in the OHL with consecutive 44-win seasons, Savard returned to the NHL as an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames at the start of this past season; and like his time in St. Louis he took care of the powerplay.
Boucher was the man behind the Maple Leafs powerplay this past season so you can expect Savard to take on that role this upcoming season. Hopefully we can see something differently than the automatic drop pass.
As a player, Savard was a standout offensive talent recording 96 and 97 points consecutively in the mid 2000s. Over a span of four seasons from 2006-2009, the Ottawa native averaged 90-points per year.
Savard's NHL playing career spanned over 13 years that included 807 career games and 706 points, including five 20-goal seasons. His sustained a career ending concussion in 2010 when Matt Cooke targeted his head knocking him out.
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Prior to his NHL career, Savard was a fourth round draft pick by the New York Rangers in 1995 and won a Memorial Cup in 1997 with the Oshawa Generals. He also won two Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy's as the leading scorer in the OHL during the 1995 and 1996 seasons.