NHL Update: Toronto Maple Leafs add AHL’s Steve Sullivan as their assistant coach following the removal of Marc Savard

As Toronto Maple Leafs’ Marc Savard was discharged from his duties by the Maple Leafs on Monday evening, following the team’s disastrous start at the playoffs, the Maple Leafs have hired a new assistant coach for the team, and that’s Steve Sullivan from AHL’s Toronto Marlies. This was announced by the team on December 26, 2025, during the NHL’s holiday break, where most of the matches are kept on hold temporarily.

Following Savard’s exit, speculations were doing the rounds about whether the team is planning to fire Craig Berube and Brad Treliving next from the team. However, it was later clarified that the club will not make any further changes to its management or coaching leadership until further notice. Sullivan’s addition to the team is considered crucial as the Maple Leafs are sitting at the bottom of the NHL when it comes to power-play efficiency, managing to convert only 13.3 percent of their opportunities.

Toronto Maple Leafs add Steve Sullivan from AHL as their new assistant coach

Following Marc Savard’s removal from the team on December 22, the Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Steve Sullivan as an assistant coach, the team announced Friday. Sullivan joins the Maple Leafs from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, as announced on Friday.

As per reports, Sullivan was hired by the Marlies in August 2024 as an assistant coach. He previously spent time with the then-Arizona Coyotes organization. He has also briefly spent time as the team’s assistant general manager before being dismissed in February 2021. Sullivan has played 1,011 games in the NHL, including parts of four seasons with the Maple Leafs.


With this appointment, Sullivan will join Craig Berube, Derek Lalonde, and the rest of the Maple Leafs’ staff, who will oversee the power play by committee, and Sullivan will almost certainly have input, as the team looks to turn their season around, as reported by The Leafs Nation.

The reason why Sullivan had to fill for Savard is that the former assistant coach was responsible for the Maple Leafs’ poor performance at the power play, which secured a league-worst 13 percent rate under his supervision.

As Steve Sullivan joins the team, he might guide the Maple Leafs for their upcoming match against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. They will be next seen in action on the 27th and play a back-to-back against the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, before facing the New Jersey Devils on December 30, 2025.
Also read: NHL Update: Are Maple Leafs planning to remove Craig Berube and Brad Treliving after Marc Savard’s departure? | NHL News - The Times of India


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