"Happy to be here": Savard thankful to remain with Canadiens through deadline
David Savard is excited and relieved to be staying with the Montreal Canadiens for the remainder of the season.
Well outside of a playoff spot, the Canadiens were considering selling off several assets ahead of yesterday’s trade deadline to help build towards the future. They did make one move, sending goaltender Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick.
While it didn’t come to fruition, another player who some believed would be moved was Savard. The 33-year-old stay-at-home defenceman has one more season remaining on his contract, but was drawing interest from several teams. He expressed recently that he was hopeful to remain with the Canadiens, and is pleased that it worked out that way.
“I’m happy to be here this morning,” Savard told reporters. “We’ll see what happens in the summer, but I’m happy to be here in Montreal and close to my family.”
Savard is in his third season with the Canadiens after signing a four-year, $14 million deal as a free agent during the 2021 offseason. Despite being known for his defensive presence, he has brought some offence to the table this season with five goals and 15 points through 41 games. He is a key contributor to the Habs’ back end, as his average of 20:32 minutes per game is fourth amongst his teammates and third amongst defencemen.
As Savard alluded to, just because he remains a Hab for now doesn’t mean that can’t change in the future. The Canadiens still have a ways to go in their rebuild, and they could elect to move him in the offseason or perhaps at next year’s trade deadline in exchange for some future assets. Nonetheless, he is staying put in Montreal for now and will continue to play a big role for the organization for the 19 games remaining in the season.
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