The Toronto Maple Leafs almost made it into Christmas without making a change behind the bench, but unfortunately Marc Savard fell victim to it on Monday morning.

Savard was hired by the Maple Leafs prior to the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach to oversee the power play, and while the man advantage had its peaks and valleys in 2024-25, it has been nothing short of dismal in 2025-26. They currently sit last in the NHL after converting at a 13.3 per cent success rate, and evidently the Leafs had enough of it.

In his place, they enlisted in Toronto Marlies assistant coach Steve Sullivan to replace Savard and try to get some positive momentum going on the power play. Sullivan is a veteran of over 1000 games, including a short stint with the Leafs between 1996 and 2000, and he was hired by the Marlies as an assistant prior to the 2024-25 season. Forward Scott Laughton said that he’s looking forward to having Sullivan’s experience on the bench.

“Sully seems like a great guy,” Laughton told reporters at morning skate on Saturday. “I got to know him a little bit at camp and had some conversations with him, so I think it’s a great addition for us and a really smart guy who’s been around in this game, who’s played a ton, who’s played in this market. So, it’s exciting for us and some of the guys, so it’s a good start.”

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who started his career in 2010, is one of the few players on the team who played in the league at the same time as Sullivan. He had the opportunity to play with Sullivan for a half-season on the 2013 Phoenix Coyotes and had to comment on the age factor.

“I played with Sully, so it makes me feel a little bit older,” Ekman-Larsson joked. “No, he’s a smart guy, obviously, over 1000 games and being a power play guy, so it’s good to see.”

Head coach Craig Berube, who took the blame for Savard’s firing after his hand-picked assistant was let go, said that he’s looking forward to getting a chance to work with Sullivan and said his area of expertise is one that the Leafs desperately need assistance in.

“Great to have Sully here,” Berube said. “We all knew Sully coming in and working with the Marlies this year. He was a longtime NHL player, a good player and an offensive guy. So, we brought him in here to help us and work with the power play.”

While Sullivan surely isn’t the one-stop fix for a team that’s had a multitude of issues this season, if he can help them get their power play back in order, his presence could be a valuable one down the stretch. Berube noted that he’ll be working with penalty kill coach Derek Lalonde on the power play to make up for the hole left by Savard. The lack of success with the man advantage is something the Leafs need to get figured out sooner rather than later, and a new voice was certainly needed at this point.

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