Hiring Marc Savard as an assistant coach went over well with Calgary Flames fans. While younger fans may not remember, Savard was a dominant offensive talent in the 2000s. Though he had his ups and downs as a member of the Flames early in his career, he quickly turned into a superstar with the Atlanta Thrashers and remained that way for several seasons with the Boston Bruins.
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By the time Savard’s playing career came to an end, he had 207 goals and 706 points in 807 games. Had his career not been cut short due to concussions, he almost certainly would have surpassed the 1,000-game threshold and may have warranted a Hall-of-Fame discussion.
That is why fans were so excited to see him hired as an assistant shortly after Ryan Huska was named head coach. General manager Craig Conroy couldn’t help but express his optimism regarding Savard’s hiring.
“I know how competitive Marc is from when we played together over three seasons here in Calgary,” Conroy said. “Savvy has a great offensive mind, which will help boost our power play and help drive our offensive game. His style was very well known as a player, and he sees the game the same way as a coach.”
With his resume and the comments from Conroy and others in the Flames organization, it was hard for fans to contain their excitement. This seemed to be a great fit, particularly for an offensive-minded player like Jonathan Huberdeau, who struggled under former head coach Darryl Sutter’s defensive-minded approach. Savard himself expressed plenty of optimism that Huberdeau would rebound in 2023-24.
“I think he’s excited to get back and throw last season in the garbage and move back to where he knows he can be,” Savard said during an interview on The Big Show with Rusic & Rose. “I think you’re going to get a different Jonathan Huberdeau this year. I think he’s going to be excellent, and I think he’ll double his point totals like he knows he can.”
Savard Has Not Helped
Now, at the 37-game mark, the excitement surrounding Savard is over. The Flames are a very mediocre team compared to last season, as proven by their 16-16-5 record. Even more disappointing is that their power play, which was a mediocre 19.8% success rate in 2022-23, has been significantly worse under Savard.
The Flames have converted on just 12% of their opportunities this campaign. They rank 30th in the league, with only the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers below them. Even the 9-26-3 San Jose Sharks have converted on 19% of their power play opportunities.
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As far as helping the team’s overall offence, Savard hasn’t done that either. The Flames finished last season averaging 3.15 goals per game, a number which has dropped to 2.97 in 2023-24. Huberdeau has been even worse than a season ago, on pace to finish the year with 38 points. Others, such as Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, and even Adam Ruzicka, have failed to thrive under Savard’s guidance as many hoped they would.
That said, these struggles can’t be placed solely on Savard’s shoulders. What they prove is that the Flames simply don’t have the top-tier talent to compete with some of the NHL’s best. As exciting as the 2021-22 season was, losing Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk has hindered this team more than anyone could have imagined, and they have been mediocre, at best, ever since. Until some changes are made to the roster, things are likely to remain the same.