The Toronto market is restless again, and the noise is growing louder near Christmas. Special teams struggles have turned routine games into uphill battles. Especially this season, the Leafs have witnessed a sharp fall in performance, ranking near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Front office decisions now sit under the same spotlight as the players on the ice. Every move, and every non-move, carries weight with its impact on performance.
Maple Leafs Have Not Approached Bruce Boudreau Amid Their Power Play Slump
The Toronto Maple Leafs are searching for answers while choosing patience over familiarity. Despite a power play stuck in neutral, the team has avoided outside fixes that once looked feasible. One of those was veteran coach Bruce Boudreau, a proven option who never received a call.
NHL analyst Nick Alberga confirmed on the Leafs Morning Take that the team did not reach out after dismissing Marc Savard. Alberga questioned the urgency, and even the logic, behind removing a coach without naming a replacement.
“I’m a bit mystified… Like they didn’t replace Marc Savard…,” Alberga said. “If you don’t even feel the need to replace this guy or the urgency to replace this guy, and it’s like – what we have, Mike Van Ryn, we have [Derek] Lalonde, and we’re good.
“Like, I mean, the simple choice was out there, Bruce Boudreau. I could tell everybody right now he was not contacted, nor do I even think they looked externally whatsoever. …And it’s like, no, we’re not adding anybody. So then it just leads me to wonder, like what was Mark Savard’s role to begin with, right?”
Alberga’s comments framed the decision as puzzling, given how clear the problem has been. Through 92 power play chances, Toronto has scored just 12 times this season. That failure has dragged games into tighter margins and erased late chances to steal points. The power play unit now ranks last (with 13%) in the league, and it shows in the standings.
Toronto sits at 16-15-5, eighth in the Atlantic Division. They have secured strong wins, but they are followed by stretches where the Leafs fail to stand their ground. The offense still averages over three goals per game (powered by Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares), but defensive leaks and power play issues erase that edge.
General manager Brad Treliving chose a narrow fix by removing Savard while leaving head coach Craig Berube untouched. The move eased pressure at the top but raised questions below it. If the role mattered, why leave it vacant?
The Leafs’ roster still carries enough talent to rebound. Nylander leads the team in points (40), while John Tavares continues to score (14 goals), tied with Matthews. Penalty killing ranks near the top of the league, showing that coaching impact exists elsewhere.
By passing on Boudreau, the Leafs made their stance clear. They want solutions grown inside the room, not borrowed from the past. Whether that belief holds up may define their season as 2026 begins.
