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Analyst Reveals What Marc Savard’s Firing Means for Maple Leafs
Marc Savard‘s dismissal has prompted scrutiny and raised questions among Toronto Maple Leafs about player accountability. Former NHL defenseman-turned-analyst Carlo Colaiacovo weighed in, explaining how the firing could carry broader implications for the Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs announced that they had relieved Savard of his duties as assistant coach under Craig Berube. The decision followed lackluster performances over the weekend. Toronto lost 5-3 to the Nashville Predators on Saturday and 5-1 to the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
During TSN‘s FirstUp, Colaiacovo discussed the message Savard’s firing sends to the players. He said Berube is clearly unhappy with the situation, as Savard was a coach he personally hired. That decision likely led to difficult conversations and puts pressure on the players to respond or further changes could follow.
“[Berube’s] got to walk into that dressing room today and look everybody in the face and say, ‘You’re the reason why one of my good friends and the guy that I hired is not here anymore.’ And so you wonder what type of attention that gets with the players,” Colaiacovo said.
He continued:
“What you’re going to see now is what type of response comes from this Maple Leafs team knowing that their performance cost somebody their jobs,” Colaiacovo said. “Does it help make something click so this team gets back into its winning ways? And if it doesn’t, there’s probably going to be more fallout.”
Carlo Colaiacovo Questions Whether Maple Leafs Captain is Upset About Marc Savard Firing
Carlo Colaiacovo also questioned whether Auston Matthews is truly upset about Marc Savard’s dismissal. The Maple Leafs captain has faced criticism for inconsistent play and a noticeable drop from his strong 2023-24 season.
Some have speculated that Matthews may be dealing with injuries. That was the case last season, when he missed 15 games and finished with 33 goals.
Colaiacovo said the leadership group does not appear to be playing with urgency or emotion. He stressed that leaders must set the tone and hold a high standard for the rest of the team.
“You watch the body language of these guys and you watch the facial expressions, they don’t look or play like they’re [upset] about anything,” Colaiacovo said on FirstUp. “Maybe that’s why you see the team playing the way that they do because the team is following the direction of their leaders.”
He added:
“If they’re leaders are playing like that, how do you expect the rest of the team to play with any type of inspiration?”
Colaiacovo Challenges Leafs Players Play with Passion After Savard Firing
Colaiacovo also challenged the Leafs to deliver a stronger effort without Savard behind the bench. He said the players must show passion and help turn the season around for Berube.
During TSN’s FirstUp, Colaiacovo said today’s game will reveal whether they are ready to change course.
“That’s all I’m saying like, hey man, your job is to lead. You lead with attitude, you lead with inspiration, you lead with facial expressions and body language,” Colaiacovo said. “If you show you care, you play like you care, you play like you’re [upset], guess what? Everybody else is going to play the same way.”
Giancarlo Aulino Giancarlo Aulino is sports writer who covers UFC for Heavy.com. He began writing for Heavy in 2025 after providing MMA coverage for Sportskeeda. Giancarlo is an experienced journalist and interviewer, having covered soccer clubs Toronto FC and York United FC as a full-season reporter, and also producing sports coverage for Toronto radio station VIBE 105.5FM.
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