The Toronto Maple Leafs could not make a player personnel move this past week due to the holiday roster freeze being in effect. Instead, they made a change to their coaching staff. In is former Maple Leafs left winger Steve Sullivan of Timmins, Ontario, who has been promoted to assistant coach of the Maple Leafs, and out is assistant coach Marc Savard of Ottawa, Ontario.
Why was Savard fired?
The Maple Leafs are last in the Atlantic Division with a record of 16 wins, 15 losses and five losses in extra time for 37 points. They have the second fewest points in the Eastern Conference. The only team with fewer points are the Columbus Blue Jackets with 36 points. They have a record of 15 wins, 15 losses, and six losses in extra time.
One reason why the Maple Leafs have had an abysmal start to the season is because of their awful power play which Savard was in charge of. Despite having All-Stars Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and defenseman Morgan Rielly on the first power-play unit, the Maple Leafs have the worst power-play percentage in the NHL at 13%. The Maple Leafs have had 92 power-play chances this season, and have only scored 12 times. Matthews leads the Maple Leafs with only three power-play goals.
To put how horrendous the Maple Leafs power-play actually is, Dallas Stars centre Wyatt Johnston, who happens to hail from Toronto, Ontario, has 14 power-play goals himself. He has two more power-play goals than the entire Maple Leafs roster this season combined.
The other problem in Toronto is the fact that the Maple Leafs are not generating many power-play chances. The Maple Leafs have only generated 92 chances, which is tied with the New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets for the fewest power-play opportunities in the NHL. On average, the Maple Leafs have 2.6 power-plays per game. In comparison, the San Jose Sharks leads the NHL with 127 power-play chances.
Why is the Maple Leafs power-play really struggling?
The reason here is the Mitch Marner trade. Last season Marner had 33 power-play points. So far this season, Marner’s replacement, Matias Maccelli, has one power-play point.
Steve Sullivan
Sullivan was with the Arizona Coyotes from 2014 to 2021. He held the roles of development coach, director of player development, assistant general manager and interim general manager. Sullivan has also been the assistant coach of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League the last two seasons before the Boxing Day promotion.
Like Savard, Sullivan has NHL playing experience. He was a forward for 16 seasons from 1995 to 2013. Sullivan was with the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. In 1011 games, Sullivan has 290 goals and 457 assists for 747 points. He was a +93 with 587 penalty minutes, 221 power-play points, 28 shorthanded points, and 2129 shots on goal.
