It seemed like only a matter of time before the Toronto Maple Leafs made a coaching change. They have lost three straight and it hasn't even been relatively close as they have been out-scored 14-4 during this stretch.
The Maple Leafs now have only 35 points and are currently second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and only one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Over the weekend, Craig Berube had quite the quote when he was asked how to get more effort from the players and said, "Ask those guys, not me."
That kind of statement doesn't seem to be one that would motivate a locker room, but signals there is a major disconnect between players and coach. It is why it felt like only a matter of time before the Maple Leafs were announcing a replacement for Craig Berube.
Toronto Maple Leafs announce a change to the coaching staff with the firing of Marc Savard
A coaching change did take place Monday night, but it was not the one that fans expected as the team announced assistant head coach Marc Savard was fired. Savard joined the Maple Leafs and Craig Berube's staff last year, and this was the second time he was a part of Berube's staff as they were together in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues.
This season, Savard struggled to get much production out of the Maple Leafs power play, and in fact, they ranked last in the NHL in power play percentage at 13.3%. They have only 12 power play goals through 35 games, which is three fewer than the next team.
Toronto Maple Leafs show at least some commitment still towards Craig Berube
The move to fire Savard is certainly an interesting one because the Maple Leafs need more than just a change at assistant coach. It seemed, based on the team's performance and some of the recent comments, Berube had lost the locker room. It was reaching a point where they needed a complete coaching change.
When considering how much parity there is in the Eastern Conference, a move at this point could still save their season and even get them back to the playoffs for a 10th straight season. However, now that Savard has been let go, it seems like the Maple Leafs are willing to give Berube more time to turn the season around.
It is just tough to imagine that he can do that, and with a top-tier coach like Peter DeBoer looking for a job, it is hard to understand why this was the coaching change they elected to make. The Maple Leafs are running out of time to get back into the playoff picture and the pressure is now on Craig Berube to find something to turn it around.