Calgary Flames announce former friend as new assistant coach

The Calgary Flames appear to be on the verge of major changes within their organization. They've already made one big switch behind the bench, electing not to bring back the veteran Darryl Sutter amidst multiple reports from players of being unhappy with his old-school coaching methods. 

In fact, the head-butting with Sutter was enough to make now-former general manager Brad Treliving leave the team; he's since resurfaced as the new general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Additionally, several players including the likes of Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Tyler Toffoli have all indicated that they have no plans to ink contract extensions.

Replacing Sutter behind the bench as head coach is Ryan Huska, who had been an assistant for the past five seasons. And now, he's got himself a new assistant coach in the form of a popular former Flames player. 

Marc Savard, who suited up for the Flames for four seasons, had recently served as head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, and led them to the OHL Final in 2021-22. He's also briefly served as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues. 

Savard played in a total of 807 NHL games with the Flames, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers and Boston Bruins, scoring 207 goals with 499 assists. 

He infamously was the victim of a dirty head shot from Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke in 2010, resulting in a Grade 2 concussion that would affect him for the rest of his remaining career.