David Savard from the Montreal Canadiens to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 31
Height: 6’2
Weight: 234 lbs
Shoots: Right
Cap Hit: $3,500,000 until 2025
David Savard became a Stanley Cup Champion after he joined the Tampa Bay Lightning at last season’s NHL Trade Deadline. He has a total of 57 games of playoff experience with Tampa Bay and the Columbus Blue Jackets which is more than any Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman who isn’t Jake Muzzin.
Savard is above average size. He’s not huge, but he’s among the top 25 defensemen in the league for hits and blocked shots. He does have a lot of giveaways this season as the Montreal Canadiens lead the league in giveaways, but he’s had better numbers with better teams in the past.
He plays top four minutes and shoots right, so he would fit in nicely beside Jake Muzzin on a shutdown pair. He still has three years left on his new contract that takes him to age 34, but $3.5 million per season seems reasonable even if his performance slips a bit with age.
Savard did just sign his contract with Montreal, and he is a Quebec native that the team may want to keep. On the other hand though, the Canadiens are going through a lot of changes which may include a hard rebuild.
David Savard has also recently been placed on the IR with an ankle injury and isn’t expected to return until shortly after the NHL Trade Deadline. He hasn’t had a career full of injuries or anything, so I’m sure he’ll bounce back, but it may be enough to throw a wrench in the cogs of a deal getting done between Toronto and Montreal.