Canadiens defenseman David Savard was a speculative trade candidate heading into last week’s deadline. However, he wound up staying in Montreal with the team electing to neither buy nor sell, turning questions about him to next season. But in a recent interview with 98.5 Sports (audio link), the veteran indicated that he’s not sure of his plans for next year in terms of whether he intends to play or not.
The 34-year-old has been a solid top-four defender for the bulk of his career, particularly on the defensive side of things. That defensive utility made him worthy of a first-round pick and more at the trade deadline the last time he was on an expiring contract although his value league-wide was nowhere near that level last week, playing a role in him staying put.
This season, Savard has slowed down and his playing time has been cut accordingly. After averaging over 20 minutes a night of playing time in each of his first three seasons with Montreal, he’s at 17:40 per night heading into Wednesday’s action against Seattle. With nearly 1,600 career blocked shots and almost 1,500 hits, it’s fair to say Savard has a lot of mileage under his belt already in over 900 career NHL games played between the regular season and playoffs.
Savard is in the final season of a four-year contract that carries a $3.5MM AAV. Even with the $7.5MM increase in the salary cap for next season, his reduced role likely has him ticketed for a smaller price tag should he choose to stick around. If he’s viewed as more of a sixth option around the league, his offers will likely be closer to half of that amount and he’s not eligible yet for performance incentives on a one-year contract.
During the interview, Savard indicated that he wants to consult with his family about his playing future and thinks his decision will come closer to the end of the season. It’s also quite possible that he waits until later in the spring to see how his body recovers from another grinding campaign before deciding if he has another year left in him. If so, it will be interesting to see if the Canadiens make an offer for him to stick around or if they look for either a younger veteran to take that spot or save it for one of their prospects in the minors, likely either Logan Mailloux or David Reinbacher.
Savard likely has 1 or 2 more seasons left in the tank as long as he’s willing to accept a 3rd pair role with a bit of PK time, and time in the press box. Doing that would take his potential earnings down to closer to the league minimum – 1M type offer. Whether he’s willing to accept such a deal is the question. He could likely even get a contract with a contender as the 7 dman if he’s willing to take such a low contract. His future is really in his and his families hands.
Savard might want to go for 1,000 games and he can do that in two seasons sans injury. But his name is on the Stanley Cup and he’s probably got enough money put away for three retirements.