The Montreal Canadiens have suffered injuries this season at a rate no one could have expected, and it isn’t slowing down. Late last night, the team ruled out David Savard for eight weeks with his right ankle injury.
Savard, 31, last played on January 27 against the Anaheim Ducks, racking up more than 21 minutes of ice time. Before missing last night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, he was one of just two players on the team to suit up for every match. Nick Suzuki now stands alone as the only Canadiens to have played in all 43 games.
Signed in the offseason to a four-year, $14MM contract after winning the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Savard got off to a terrible start in Montreal. At times he seemed nowhere near the reliable top-four option he’d been in Columbus and even saw his ice time drop to around 15 minutes for a few games early on. Recently, he’d turned around his season and played better for the Canadiens, logging more responsibility, engaging physically more often, and generally staying out of the penalty box.
That progression will now be put on hold as he faces a two-month recovery, one that will leave him with just a handful of games left at the end of the regular season. It’s been a nightmare in Montreal this year, one that Canadiens fans can’t seem to wake up from.