Player Discussion David Savard

[Tyson]

He was fine in the 1st game against Toronto. He had block of cement for feets against the Bruins and was still slow skating against the Sens too. The Penguins game was his worst at the decision making level so far.

So was the right move to trade Savard and keep Kovy ?

An argument can be made

 

[LaP]

An argument can be made

An argument can also be made that 31 teams slept on Mark Kastelic. Or maybe we can just wait January to come to those conclusions?

 

[HabsQC]

You believe Kovy would look good in this shitshow?

Never talked about looking good, but an argument could be made as if

Kovy > Savard

in this shitshow

 

[Habs]

Should have moved fatso last year when he somewhat had value, now he is going to fetch another one of the Pitlick boys at this rate.

 

[Sorinth]

Never talked about looking good, but an argument could be made as if

Kovy > Savard

in this shitshow

The bigger the shitshow the more important it is too have that veteran experience. Savard might have lower highs compared to Kovacevik but he's also going to have higher lows. So for this team I have little doubt that Savard is the better fit, and this is from someone who wanted us to keep Kovacevik as the 7th D and have Struble get sent down to start the year.

 

[HuGort]

I haven't watched any games so far and I see that Savard hasn't played very well. Has he had any good games?

Zero chance he gets extended like some suggested during the off season. Lot of mileage on him. Injuries and blocked shots. Moved at deadline is my prediction. Veteran D usually return overpayment at deadline

 

[Egresch]

I think we are facing quite a challenge with Savard. He was supposed to be a steady veteran presence and tutor& partner for Hutson, however in first 5 games he looked like the weakest link in our defense. He will turn 34 in few days and it looks like he regressed heavily. Overall, it complicates our D pairings a lot, because he is no longer able to cover for Hutson or Matheson. He was kept in 3rd pairing with Xhekaj who also lacks speed. He could work with Struble, but creates a hole as we need to play Barron with Matheson which is crazy pairing defensively.

His gap to league average speed for defenseman is growing and he is one of the slowest players in the league. Forget about extension or 1st at TDL, I still hope he can bounce back to solid level, but he will be not more than 3rd pairing for us.

 

[BLONG7]

I think we are facing quite a challenge with Savard. He was supposed to be a steady veteran presence and tutor& partner for Hutson, however in first 5 games he looked like the weakest link in our defense. He will turn 34 in few days and it looks like he regressed heavily. Overall, it complicates our D pairings a lot, because he is no longer able to cover for Hutson or Matheson. He was kept in 3rd pairing with Xhekaj who also lacks speed. He could work with Struble, but creates a hole as we need to play Barron with Matheson which is crazy pairing defensively.
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His gap to league average speed for defenseman is growing and he is one of the slowest players in the league. Forget about extension or 1st at TDL, I still hope he can bounce back to solid level, but he will be not more than 3rd pairing for us.

He is struggling.......5 games is such a small sample size, but yet he is a vet, so absolutely agree there are huge concerns here.

 

[Benstheman]

He is struggling.......5 games is such a small sample size, but yet he is a vet, so absolutely agree there are huge concerns here.

He needs to play 12 minutes 5vs5 + time on the PK. That's it.

Put him on the 3rd pair with Xhekaj.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Should have flipped this guy but the anti tankers swear we needed him this season

 

[Bobby Holik agent]

Man his trade value is down the drain

 

[vokiel]

Hal Gill had skates made out of marble as well. Savard can still play for us with the appropriate role, and the appropriate top 4 in place, which we do not have more with Hutson, Barron and Matheson all on it. None of them are any better at defending than David.

It's going to be time to make some sacrifices here. We can't ice a D with half of the defenders only interested in offense.

 

[MonkeyBusiness]

Should have moved fatso last year when he somewhat had value, now he is going to fetch another one of the Pitlick boys at this rate.

I was all aboard moving him last year, but I was told he was indispensable to the rebuild and we needed to keep him until this year. I guess the value of beached whales is very high in hockey.

Hal Gill had skates made out of marble as well. Savard can still play for us with the appropriate role, and the appropriate top 4 in place, which we do not have more with Hutson, Barron and Matheson all on it. None of them are any better at defending than David.

It's going to be time to make some sacrifices here. We can't ice a D with half of the defenders only interested in offense.

Hal Gill had length, reach, and an active stick to cover for his skating woes. All Savard has is a big body to block shots with.

 

[vokiel]

Hal Gill had length, reach, and an active stick to cover for his skating woes. All Savard has is a big body to block shots with.

It should normally be sufficient if he was paired with Guhle. That's the issue I see with this core. His only great partner is playing on the right side as well. Maybe when Struble comes back, that'll work best for him also. Xhekaj is just too often out of position to be of any help, and Hutson has the smallest reach and the weakest battling skills.

 

[MonkeyBusiness]

It should normally be sufficient if he was paired with Guhle. That's the issue I see with this core. His only great partner is playing on the right side as well. Maybe when Struble comes back, that'll work best for him also. Xhekaj is just too often out of position to be of any help, and Hutson has the smallest reach and the weakest battling skills.

I think he’s become way too slow to keep up the pace in the NHL, and he wouldn’t be capable of taking on the defensive matchups Guhle has. You cannot shelter Savard (which he needs at this point) and pair him with Guhle.

I do agree that a pairing with Struble is his best option.

The problem with the Hutson-Savard pairing wasn’t Hutson’s battling in front of the net. It’s that Savard has often been caught out of position this year. With a guy like Hutson, that can’t happen.

 

[Essenege]

I think he’s become way too slow to keep up the pace in the NHL, and he wouldn’t be capable of taking on the defensive matchups Guhle has. You cannot shelter Savard (which he needs at this point) and pair him with Guhle.

I do agree that a pairing with Struble is his best option.

The problem with the Hutson-Savard pairing wasn’t Hutson’s battling in front of the net. It’s that Savard has often been caught out of position this year. With a guy like Hutson, that can’t happen.

As I posted on another thread..expected goals

Hutson-Guhle 55%
Hutson-Savard 25%

Xhekaj Barron 48%
Xhekaj Savard 25%

Savard is too slow. Late to the puck so he always rims it, perfect pass to opposing D on the blue line. And when the other team is cycling he’s useless, can’t break any play so he resorts to blocking shooting lanes and playing turtle defense.

Compared to a good ole Barron mistake these are less apparent, but overall a lot more costly!

 

[Tyson]

As I posted on another thread..expected goals

Hutson-Guhle 55%
Hutson-Savard 25%

Xhekaj Barron 48%
Xhekaj Savard 25%

Savard is too slow. Late to the puck so he always rims it, perfect pass to opposing D on the blue line. And when the other team is cycling he’s useless, can’t break any play so he resorts to blocking shooting lanes and playing turtle defense.

Compared to a good ole Barron mistake these are less apparent, but overall a lot more costly!

David seems to be losing a step. I appreciate this player and the accomplishment of playing over 800 games but his runway is getting shorter.

 

[LaP]

Anyone who pretend Savard has been better than Barron in the first 5 games has not watched said games that's for sure.

 

[LaP]

David seems to be losing a step. I appreciate this player and the accomplishment of playing over 800 games but his runway is getting shorter.

It's very hard to remain effective in the mid 30ies. Brain slow down. Body doesn't recover as well from injury. Stamina takes a hit. Doesn't show too much for guys like Crosby, Malkin or Letang until they are closer to 40 but for a guy like Savard more often than not 33-35 is the end of the effective career. The player might hang around for a while based on reputation but wont be effective anymore and would be best replaced by a younger player. We'll find a taker at the TDL dinosaur coaches LOVE their vets well done.

 

[Tyson]

It's very hard to remain effective in the mid 30ies. Brain slow down. Body doesn't recover as well from injury. Stamina takes a hit. Doesn't show too much for guys like Crosby, Malkin or Letang until they are closer to 40 but for a guy like Savard more often than not 33-35 is the end of the effective career. The player might hang around for a while based on reputation but wont be effective anymore and would be best replaced by a younger player. We'll find a taker at the TDL dinosaur coaches LOVE their vets well done.

Well said

 

[Bourdon101]

Should have flipped this guy but the anti tankers swear we needed him this season

Funnily enough, now the tankers will want to keep him!

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

Savard played well in the pre-season and in the first game against Toronto, however since the Boston game he fell apart. He had a pre-season game where he played 24+ minutes and played over 20+ versus Toronto, but his ice time was way down in games 2-4.

He's on the decline but I don't think he's suddenly fallen off a cliff, odds are he is likely dealing with an injury or something.