Player Discussion David Savard

[Leto]

Few weeks ago he was on the tradeblock because hes gonna be UFA. But now they are in a playoff race so do they trade him or do they keep him and risk losing him after the season? Tough choice

I don't think you're going to lose him. He signed with Montreal to have his kids grow up in the province, it was a priority for him. He already won a cup with Tampa. If he leaves, it's retirement or the Habs let him go.

 

[ahmedou]

Keep him. We have 900 draft picks...his leadership alone is too important not to keep him.

Xhekaj on Savard:

“He’s in my corner. He’s the #1 guy in my corner. Every game. Every practice. I always look to him for advice…He’s always telling me to keep smiling no matter what. He’s the best guy to have on the team. He’s been a huge help for me.”

 

[Tyson]

Xhekaj on Savard:

“He’s in my corner. He’s the #1 guy in my corner. Every game. Every practice. I always look to him for advice…He’s always telling me to keep smiling no matter what. He’s the best guy to have on the team. He’s been a huge help for me.”

% why he needs to stay. Vets like this are hard to replace.

 

[Skip Bayless]

He shoved the hard rubber disk up thy arse, and that gent kicketh the bucket for the greater cause.

 

[Egresch]

Few weeks ago he was on the tradeblock because hes gonna be UFA. But now they are in a playoff race so do they trade him or do they keep him and risk losing him after the season? Tough choice

For me, there is no point of trading him at TDL anymore. You do not touch a well oiled machine and his leadership is key part of our sucess. However, I would not extend him as he is barely 3RD now and we have to heavily compensate his lack of speed. We should aim to acquire top 4 RHD and we should still keep a potential spot (short-term) for some of our prospects (Reinbacher, Engstrom, Mailloux).

 

[ahmedou]

Bell Let's Talk: David Savard

 

[habdynasty]

trade him today !

 

[BLONG7]

% why he needs to stay. Vets like this are hard to replace.

He will stay unless HuGo get an offer that knocks them over.
Stays and signs on for another year I think.

 

[Habs]

he's going to be so bad next year onwards, the speed of the game passed him long ago

 

[Tyson]

He will stay unless HuGo get an offer that knocks them over.
Stays and signs on for another year I think.

One thing I have noticed is how much slower he has been recently. I may have to rethink my mindset on whether we should keep him or not

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

His skating is indeed too poor at this point for me to say he should have a slot on the team next year; it's sad, but we can't ignore what's in front of us.

 

[Tyson]

His skating is indeed too poor at this point for me to say he should have a slot on the team next year; it's sad, but we can't ignore what's in front of us.

He imo would make a great D assistant coach down the road.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

He's declined a lot this year but I'd still take him back next year to be the 7th D if he's interested. His age and lack of speed shows when he's playing 18-19 minutes a game, but when he only plays 14-15 minutes he is fine.

I'd rather have a veteran like him as the 7th D instead of having a younger guy like Struble sitting 3 weeks at a time.

 

[Victoire HuGo]

I'd be surprised if he's worth more than a 4th at this point. Rather use the retention on Armia at this point

 

[AHShadow]

He imo would make a great D assistant coach down the road.

Wonder if he would rather still play or just retire + become assistant coach/player development for us.

Has kids and said he'd love to stay here, so can see him being convinced.

 

[Team_Spirit]

 

[le_sean]

I don’t give a flying f*** about "leadership". If this guy comes back, the GM needs to be fired.

 

[JadedRandom]

I don’t give a flying f*** about "leadership". If this guy comes back, the GM needs to be fired.

Chances are extremely low that he is brought back.

Savard has lost a major step this season speed-wise, and management must see this too.

I mean, Savard's a good guy in the room, a good leader, and he blocks shots like a champion. But at this point in his career, he's a #6-7 defenseman at best for a team that has some good speed to cover Savard's slowness and just needs a bit more veteran experience.

And the thing is, aside from Matheson and to a lesser extent Hutson, none of our other defensemen (Guhle, Struble, Xhekaj) are really fast enough to be able to successfully insulate Savard at this point in his career.

So yeah, while 26 year-old in-his-prime David Savard would be an absolute godsend to this team, current-day Savard likely won't be re-signed unless no UFA D wants to sign with us and/or Reinbacher/Mailloux need yet more time.

What I'd do instead of signing him is give Savard a role within the team as staff, let him keep being a positive influence on the locker room whilst trying to get a bit younger/faster on defense.

 

[Paddy17]

Anyone that wants to re-sign Savard should seriously have their hockey evaluation skill questionned.

 

[LesCactus]

Anyone that wants to re-sign Savard should seriously have their hockey evaluation skill questionned.

Only way I’d consider to bring him back is if he’s willing to be the 7th D and not complain about it.

 

[le_sean]

Only way I’d consider to bring him back is if he’s willing to be the 7th D and not complain about it.

No because then the coaching staff will find a way to play him. He should never be on the ice ever again. It’s become that bad.

 

[Hannibal]

The guy is over cooked and done. Cannot have in the lineup to play him only on the PK.

Once Guhle is back, give the experience to the youths.

 

[The Great Weal]

Awesome guy and the guys clearly respect him, but he's done. I think even Marty has to overlook his veteran leadership and scratch him if Guhle is back.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

They need to take Savard out behind the barn, and shoot him. That dog won’t hunt no more…

 

[Habssince89]

Ty for your service David but you can't be here next year