The Toronto Maple Leafs made the easiest of the possible moves that were chronicled in Monday’s column, dismissing assistant coach Marc Savard after one and a half seasons, but although his firing was justified with how ineffective the Leafs have been on the power play, letting go of Savard smacks of reshuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.
The former NHLer could not stylistically find a good fit with the weapons the Leafs have for most of his tenure and fell back on a gimmicky five-forward unit halfway through last season, which was effective at times but dangerous as well. The departure of Mitch Marner made Savard have to fall back on the traditional unit of four forwards and one defenseman, and the unit struggled even worse than it did last season (currently ranked 32nd in the NHL with a 13.3% rating (12 for 90)).
For those hoping this is the first domino to fall, the signs right now indicate that things will have to get much worse before GM Brad Treliving will take the next step and fire head coach Craig Berube. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported shortly after the dismissal that the club would not replace Savard on the staff and that the club would handle his responsibilities internally. That might hint that they do not want to bring in another coach because the current staff is in jeopardy, but that would be wrong.
GM Brad Treliving is rumored to not want to make a coaching change, and according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both Treliving and Berube are safe because “the organization does not wish to make hasty decisions before being thoroughly prepared”. Based on that, Savard appears to be a sacrifice to the hockey gods in hopes that it will wake up the slumbering Leafs.
This move definitely falls into the “change for change sake” category, but will fall flat and make the organization look completely out of touch with reality if they continue to wallow at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. What this decision might also reflect is that Treliving does not have the authority to hire another head coach since his deal with the Leafs expires after next season.
This could mean that Treliving’s fate is inextricably linked to Berube’s, and if Toronto misses the postseason, it could be a clean sweep of the management and coaching staff. The next move could be to the roster if things do not change, but it will not be to the core group, as they all have no-movement clauses.
Toronto takes on former GM Kyle Dubas’ Pittsburgh Penguins in a pre-Christmas Tuesday afternoon matinee, and the stakes could not be higher for the Maple Leafs at this point. The Columbus Blue Jackets, on the strength of two power-play goals from former Leaf and recently acquired Mason Marchment, moved ahead of the Leafs, who are now in last place in the East.
The firing of Savard may have bought Treliving a bit of time, but the Leafs GM needs to be prepared to make some kind of roster move, even if it is the player equivalent of firing an assistant coach when the entire staff deserved to be axed.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (15-15-5 – 35 POINTS)
vs.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (15-11-9 – 39 POINTS)
DECEMBER 23, 2025 ▪ 4:00 PM EST ▪ SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON)
TV: SPORTSNET ONTARIO ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY vs. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
| All-Time Record: | 93-85-17-7 (202 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 52-34-11-3 (100 Games) |
| 2024-25: | 2-1-0 |
| Last Five: | 4-1-0 |
| Last 10: | 8-2-0 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | December 13, 1967 (Toronto 1 vs. Pittsburgh 2) |
| All-Time Record: | 93-85-17-7 (202 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 52-34-11-3 (100 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 41-51-6-4 (102 Games) |
| Last Home Win vs. Opponent: | November 3, 2025 (Toronto 4 vs. Pittsburgh 3) |
MAPLE LEAFS / PENGUINS – 2025-26 TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | PITTSBURGH | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 3.11 (12th) | 3.03 (15th-T) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.34 (25th) | 3.09 (17th) |
| Power Play %: | 13.3 (32nd) | 29.6 (3rd) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 83.2 (6th) | 80.8 (18th) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 26.9 (22nd) | 28.5 (12th-T) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 31.1 (31st) | 28.3 (17th-T) |
| Faceoff %: | 57.0 (1st) | 50.2 (16th) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
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