Bruins Need to Keep Savard
The Boston Bruins are facing a slight dilemma regarding salary cap space and are thinking of alleviating some pressure by trading veteran centre Marc Savard.
The team currently has a total of 18 players under contract with less than $2 million in free cap space. This is especially problematic given that Blake Wheeler and Gregory Campbell are heading to arbitration in the near future and that Boston’s top draft pick Tyler Seguin will most likely command a $3 million hit against the cap with his salary and bonus.
While trading Savard may seem like an easy escape from salary cap woes, in reality it is one of the worst moves that Boston could orchestrate.
The Bruins are desperate for immediate victory. Their star players, like Savard and Zdeno Chara, are aging and encouraged to win. Savard and Chara easily have the most drive of any Bruins players as they now realize the immediacy of the possibility of retiring without winning a Stanley Cup.
In general, Boston needs Savard. Although he was plagued by injuries last year, Savard was their best point producer on average when he did play. He has recovered now, and should be able to maintain that standard. Boston was also the lowest scoring team in the National Hockey League last season, and that doesn’t quite seem like the type of team which can afford to get rid of its best offensive producer.
If Boston is worried about Savard’s concussion concerns, they can look at Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron returned with tremendous form after serious concussions, and lead the Bruins in scoring while making it onto the gold medal winning Team Canada Olympic squad.
Savard himself has shown his capability to return with a huge OT-winning goal in Game 1 of Boston’s second round series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Even if Savard’s salary is a slight impairment for the Bruins, it’s important to realize just how valuable of a deal $4 million is for a player of such high calibre. Savard is fully capable of another 80 or 90 point season when healthy, as he showed in 2008-09. Savard is the fifth-highest paid player on Boston, yet could easily be the top point producer. That is value.
If anything, the Bruins should be more concerned with paying over $5 million to veteran goalkeeper Tim Thomas, who has performed at a rate no better than many of the goalies making a fifth of that.
Michael Ryder, the third-string left winger for the Bruins, makes the same salary as Savard yet produces much less. The Bruins would be much better off demoting him rather than getting rid of Savard.
While Savard may look like the bad guy if he doesn’t waive his no-trade clause, his presence is entirely a benefit to Boston. Plus he actually wants to play and win there. The only teams Savard would want to go to are Toronto or Ottawa, and Boston seems to value Savard enough to not make an inter-division trade like that.
If the Bruins are smart, they will retain Savard. Additionally they should demote Ryder and use the funding to sign Seguin for the $3 million he is expected to make. If they are still struggling for cash and desperate for signings, they should seek to rid themselves of Dennis Seidenberg’s contract via trade. Simply put, a team that was one of the worst in the League in scoring is not going to improve by trading their best scorer. It’s like trying to fix a leak by blowing up the pipe.
With Savard at full-strength and some small re-tooling, the Bruins can perhaps get over their unceremonious upset at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. Without Savard, Boston is barely a playoff team.
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