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David Savard

Lightning And Blue Jackets Working On David Savard Trade

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The Lightning have been cap-strapped all season long but have been looking to add to their back end.  It appears they’re making some progress on that front as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they are discussing a David Savard trade with the Blue Jackets.  TSN’s Frank Seravalli tweets that Savard has been notified of the trade although the exact return is not yet known.

Savard has been a reliable stay-at-home defenseman for the better part of the last decade, averaging more than 20 minutes per game in 597 career NHL contests, all with Columbus.  That had him positioned to be potentially the top blueliner to move between now and the trade deadline despite what has been a particularly quiet season by his standards.  He has just a goal and five assists in 40 games with a team-worst -19 rating and a career-low possession rate with a 43.1% Corsi mark.  However, given how much the Blue Jackets have struggled this season, he’s certainly a prime candidate to rebound and GM Jarmo Kekalainen knows that with the asking price in recent days for the pending unrestricted free agent involving a first-round pick.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that Columbus may indeed get that as part of the return and as we saw last year with the pickups of Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois isn’t against moving first-rounders at this time of year.

With a $4.25MM cap hit, Columbus will almost certainly need to retain a sizable part of Savard’s contract to facilitate a move; they can retain as much as 50%.  Even so, with Tampa Bay having just $370K in LTIR room per CapFriendly, other moves will need to be made to make this happen.  If Jan Rutta is going to be out for the rest of the regular season, he could be shifted there which would add another $1.3MM to their already high LTIR pool which would help but not completely open up the space to do this deal.

If Tampa Bay is able to get this done, Savard would represent a big addition to their back end, a group that is already pretty strong at the top with Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak.  However, they’ve struggled to put a reliable third pairing together with none of their options playing more than Rutta’s 16:02 per night; Luke Schenn and Callan Foote have both seen somewhat regular minutes but are logging less than 13 minutes a game.  Adding Savard, someone who is capable of handling more than 20 minutes a game, certainly would bolster their depth and allow them to take a bit of pressure off their top-four down the stretch and give them some crucial injury insurance heading into the playoffs.

Trade Rumors: Florida, Chicago, Toronto, Hall, Iafallo

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The Florida Panthers’ trade of Brett Connolly earlier today was seemingly a precursor to something more, perhaps even a lot more. The trade opens up even more cap room for a Panthers’ team that already had substantial space, seemingly allowing them to do whatever they want at the trade deadline. With an estimated $16.4MM in full-season cap space per CapFriendly, no one is off limits to the Cats, who are looking to make the most of their firm playoff position in the Central Division. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports during the latest edition of “Insider Trading” that Florida is seeking both a top-six forward and top-four defenseman and with this additional space, there is no reason why they can’t address both if they can find reasonable trades. LeBrun notes that the Panthers were one of the teams discussing Kyle Palmieri with the New Jersey Devils prior to yesterday’s deal and will have to look elsewhere for help up front. On the blue line, LeBrun believes that rookie GM Bill Zito could look to reunite with David Savard, one of his former players in Columbus and a player heavily expected to be dealt before the deadline. One way or another, the Panthers are absolutely a buyer and a team to watch as Monday’s deadline approaches.

  • As for the other side of this morning’s trade, the Chicago Blackhawks are expected to continue to use their cap room in hopes of adding other assets, LeBrun reports. Today’s deal not only landed a serviceable forward in Connolly, but also two nice young assets in Riley Stillman and Henrik Borgstrom. GM Stan Bowman would like to make as many of these types of deals as he can before the deadline. With so many teams across the league struggling with cap space, the Blackhawks could net several other pieces by offering up their financial flexibility. Specifically, LeBrun notes that Bowman has been talking to the Maple Leafs about a trade that would free up some space in Toronto.
  • The Maple Leafs have been searching for a forward for some time, but it has not been going well. Not only are the Leafs dealing with a cap crunch, but their targets keep disappearing from the market too. Frank Seravalli reports that Toronto had previously shown strong interest in both Palmieri and Nashville’s Mikael Granlund; Palmieri is now an Islander and the Predators are in playoff position. The team will have to look elsewhere, but don’t expect them to turn to Taylor Hall. While Darren Dreger notes that interest in Hall is picking up with Palmieri off the market, Seravalli notes that the Leafs are not a suitor. Both Hall’s cap cost and the asking price to acquire him are thought to be too much for GM Kyle Dubas. That could change if Toronto finds a way to open up cap space and the bidding war for Hall fizzles out, but it seems unlikely that a deal will come together by Monday if the Leafs have shown no interest thus far.
  • Tanner Pearson has finally signed a new contract with the Vancouver Canucks, but don’t worry a new extension-or-trade drama has already rose up to take it’s place. Seravalli reports that the Los Angeles Kings have been working hard to re-sign impending UFA forward Alex Iafallo and have previously turned away trade offers. However, the two sides have not been able to reach an agreement and time is running out. L.A. is now finally listening to offers for Iafallo, though extension talks continue. The Kings still hope to re-sign the 27-year-old scorer, but will have no choice but to trade him if a deal is not in place by Monday. L.A. is too far outside of a playoff spot right now to justify keeping Iafallo only to watch him walk for nothing as a free agent.

David Savard Expected To Be Held Out

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Another top name is expected to be held out of the lineup tonight, as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that David Savard will likely be a healthy scratch tonight for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Savard is currently listed in the top spot on Frank Seravalli of TSN’s Trade Bait board.

Savard, 30, is arguably the top defenseman on the market as the deadline approaches, given his long history of success in Columbus and expiring contract. The right-handed blueliner carries a $4.25MM cap hit in the final season of a five-year, $21.25MM deal signed in 2015. Though his offense has dried up a bit in the past few seasons, there was a time not too long ago that Savard was one of the most consistent do-it-all two-way defensemen in the league, racking up solid point totals and playing on both special teams.

This season he has just six points in 40 games and like many of the other Blue Jackets players is getting destroyed in terms of possession numbers. Still averaging nearly 20 minutes a night, Savard is a -19 on the year, worst on Columbus and only ahead of a few Buffalo Sabres players league-wide. While those poor numbers have a lot to do with the disappointing effort from the Blue Jackets this season, Savard isn’t a true top-pairing option at this point and shouldn’t be seen as one on the open market.

Still, there’s value in his versatility and 600 games of experience should still get him a fair bit of interest. If a deep contending team can plug him in on a second or third pair for a stretch run, there’s a real chance that Savard’s numbers rebound. He could be an incredibly valuable piece for a playoff run and given the dearth of top-four options on the market, could fetch a high price.

That’s exactly why the Blue Jackets can’t afford to risk an injury, especially after what has happened to some of their other chips the last few days. Riley Nash and Boone Jenner have both been ruled out for the rest of the regular season, taking them off the market for Columbus. If Savard had somehow suffered an injury as well it would be a missed opportunity to bring back some of the assets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has expended over the last few years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Trade Candidate: David Savard

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we continue our closer look at some of the players who have a good chance of being on the move between now and April 12th.

It hasn’t exactly been the year that the Columbus Blue Jackets would have hoped for. The team has struggled on offense and hasn’t done a whole lot better on defense this season. Throw in some banged up goaltending and the Blue Jackets suddenly find themselves in sixth place in the Central Division with Dallas just behind them with four games in hand. That would suggest that this might be a good year to sell.

The team could find themselves ready to move on from defensive stalwart David Savard. The 30-year-old blueliner has been with the Blue Jackets for 10 years now, but while he’s still quite effective, has seen his playing time dip a full minute from last season and as the defenseman’s contract is ending, it might be time to move on from him.

Contract

Savard is in the final year of a five-year, $21.25MM contract he signed back in 2015. It has an AAV of $4.25MM with no trade protection.

2020-21

While Savard still is seeing top-four minutes, he has seen a decline in playing time. The blueliner is averaging 19:37 of ATOI this season, while he averaged 20:41 of ice time last season. While he averaged a minus-three in plus/minus last season, that number has gotten worse as he currently has a minus-15.

The right-shot Savard, however, does offer some solid penalty killing skills, which many playoff teams are often looking for at the deadline and would be a perfect fit for many teams in the league. He isn’t an offensive threat and never will be considering his best offensive season in the last five years was a 24-point outing in 2018-19. He currently has five assists and is not on the power play.

Savard also offers some size to teams who might need it at 6-foot-2, 229 pounds and is an excellent shot blocker who can also dole out hits, again features many teams are looking for. He is also a humorous locker room presence. Savard has also looked stronger more recently and has reunited with partner Vladislav Gavrikov recently, who he played with last season.

Season Stats

34 GP, 0 goals, 5 assists, 5 points, -15 rating, 24 PIMS, 41 shots, 19:37 TOI, 43.6 CF%

Potential Suitors

Plenty of teams would be interested in Savard despite his AAV.

One team that would make sense would be the Florida Panthers. General manager Bill Zito has made a habit of picking up former Blue Jacket players and Savard might be a good fit in Florida as the team ramps up its efforts for a serious playoff run this year. While the team has some solid defense, the team can always use someone like Savard to provide much needed physicality and shot-blocking skills into their lineup.

With the lessening of the 14-day quarantine in Canada to just seven days, that could make it easier for Columbus to send Savard up North where several teams could be on the lookout for a defensive defenseman. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets might make sense for Savard, although both teams are more likely to be looking for a bigger splash in Mattias Ekholm. However, Savard might make a solid consolation prize.

Even a team like Colorado or Vegas could be candidates for a low-key player such as Savard to help for an ultimate Stanley Cup run.

Likelihood Of A Trade

There is no guarantee that Savard would stay with the Blue Jackets if they elected not to trade him despite the fact that he’s spent his entire career in Columbus. One other key factor is that even in sixth place, the Blue Jackets are only three points out of a playoff spot, although four teams are vying for that honor. That doesn’t mean that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is ready to trade off one of his top-four defensemen. However, with few picks in the last few drafts, the Blue Jackets should be cognizant of the fact that they still don’t have a full slate of picks even this year as they are without a second-round pick, something the team might be able to pry off a team for Savard.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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