Savard has been linked to the Maple Leafs and the dominos are falling fast among the coaching ranks.
Marc Savard is no longer an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames.
The team put out a news release on Wednesday stating that the club and Savard agreed mutually to part ways.
“We would like to thank Marc for his commitment last season and also for his professionalism during this process to arrive at today’s decision,” said Flames General Manager Craig Conroy. “We wish Marc success with his future endeavors in the game.”
The Flames hired Savard last June as an assistant coach to Ryan Huska. It was Savard’s second taste of coaching in the NHL. Before spending two seasons coaching the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, Savard first worked as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues under head coach Craig Berube.
It’s believed that Savard still had term on his contract with the Flames. But Wednesday’s announcement allows the former NHL player of over 800 games to pursue new opportunities.
Berube was introduced as Toronto’s new head coach on Tuesday. He refrained from commenting on the status of the team’s assistant coaches or if he intended to bring on staff.
Logic seems to suggest Savard and Berube could be reuniting in Toronto. DJ Smith was another assistant coach linked to Toronto, but he may stay with the Los Angeles Kings, now that Jim Hller had the interim tag removed and signed an extension.
The Leafs have not commented on any of their existing assistant coaches. Former Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe is going to be the new head coach of the New Jersey Devils, is he interested in bringing any of his over from last season?
The Blues had the third-best power play in the NHL while Savard was in St. Louis at 24.3 percent. Mike Van Ryn, was also an assistant under Berube in 2019-20.
There is still a lot of vacancies around the NHL as coaching silly seasons continues on. Stay tuned.