Skilled center played two-plus seasons in Calgary, moving up from success in OHL
Marc Savard will be joining the Calgary Flames as an assistant coach under Ryan Huska.
Savard, who spent parts of three seasons with the Flames before departing amidst an acrimonious clash with then-coach Greg Gilbert, essentially broke the news Thursday night by changing his Twitter profile to the team’s logo.
The Hockey News has confirmed with sources that Savard will be part of the new coaching staff.
Savard has spent the last two seasons as head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, and guided them to consecutive 44-win seasons. Before that, he was as an assistant with the St. Louis Blues.
Savard was Calgary’s top-line center before suffering a knee injury early the 2001-02 season, which gave now-Flames GM Craig Conroy the opportunity to skate in that role. Conroy and Jarome Iginla immediately clicked in what became a breakout offensive season for them both.
Savard struggled while relegated to a lesser role, and was eventually traded to the Atlanta Thrashers, where he collected a career-high 97 points in 2005-06. He went on to play four-plus seasons with the Boston Bruins before suffering a pair of horrific concussions which forced him to retire.
Upon regaining his health, Savard turned to coaching. With the Flames, he will work with the forwards and coach the power play.
The Flames coaching staff will reportedly include a pair of holdovers in Cail MacLean and goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera, with Lane Lambert, who spent the last four seasons an an assistant with the Nashville Predators and was an assistant coach under Huska for three seasons with the WHL Kelowna Rockets, also joining.
Earlier on Thursday, Mitch Love left the organization to become an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals. Love was named the AHL coach of the year both seasons he guided the Flames’ top farm team and was a finalist for the head coaching job.