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What Marc Savard's firing signals about Craig Berube's future in Toronto
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Marc Savard was fired on Monday, and it seems like a warning shot sent to Craig Berube and company that their jobs aren't safe right now.
On Monday evening, the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to make one coaching change, by relieving Marc Savard of his assistant coaching duties and by proxy, get rid of the man responsible for the NHL's worst power play.
It was something that came as a surprise not because it wasn't deserved but because it felt like that move wasn't going to be the only one. It might help in the interim but it doesn't solve the real issues.
Which is why Craig Berube and company shouldn't be feeling too comfortable that their jobs are safe considering they could be next on the chopping block.
Marc Savard first, but potentially not the last coaching casualty
This really shouldn't be a surprise but it does show that the team is willing to make moves (albeit when pushed to).
But TSN's Chris Johnston believes this was a warning shot to the rest of the staff that if they don't get the team going and can't get themselves out of this slump then they are next:
The seat of Craig Berube is still quite hot after the Leafs road trip and now the firing of Marc Savard. The dismissal of Savard is almost like a 'warning shot' after how poor they've been on the power play through the first few months with Savard in charge.
We know that Brad Treliving has the utmost faith in Craig Berube but when push comes to shove, there needs to be changes. Berube isn't a bad coach but he might be a bad coach for the team (one who has seemingly quit on him). What good does sticking with something that actively is hurting the morale of the team?
History repeating itself for Toronto at worst possible time
This is harkening back to Randy Carlyle levels of coaching. A hard-nosed, gritty coach who didn't give two darns about anything. Players hated playing under him, and the team stuck with it until the bitter end.
History repeats itself as it often does, and if the Maple Leafs aren't careful then they are going to end up making the same mistakes that haunted them in the past.
Marc Savard's firing was the only move the team decided to make on Monday, but it doesn't mean they aren't looking ahead to something new, and we could hear that Berube is about to join his former assistant in the unemployment line.