Former Boston Bruin Marc Savard has once again been moved. The 37-year old forward hasn’t played in a NHL game since 2011, and is still battling post-concussion issues. This time around the Florida Panthers moved Savard to the New Jersey Devils. The Devils traded Paul Thompson and Graham Black in order to get the rights to Savard’s contract. The Devils also acquired the Panthers’ second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Savard is in the final year of his seven-year deal that he signed with the Boston Bruins. Savard’s $28 million dollar contract made him an expensive but worthy member of the Black and Gold as they fought to win the Stanley Cup that year.
Savard helped the Boston Bruins become a relevant team again. He was part of the Black and Gold rebirth, combing strong production with clean, physical play. His absence on the roster gave rookie players like Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin more ice time, and those two young guns were an important part of the B’s Cup win.
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Savard had a solid career in the National Hockey League, playing in a total of 807 regular season games. He also played in 25 playoff games. A grievous cheap shot by the repeat-offender Matt Cooke gave Savard his second concussion within a year, forcing his pseudo-retirement.
“It’s going to be tough to play again,” said Savard of his injuries back in 2014. “I listen (to the doctors) and taking another hit is not really on the agenda. Right now, it doesn’t look promising.”
Savard will be paid $575,000 during the 2016-17 season. His four million dollar cap hit will help the Devils organization avoid the salary floor. It’s highly improbable for Savard to get more than a paycheck and a jersey from the Devils organization, and he’s due to retire at the end of the upcoming season.
Savard’s final numbers are still impressive. He put up 706 points (207 goals) in his regular season career, plus an additional 22 points (eight goals) in his playoff career.