The Montreal Canadiens aren't shopping trade candidates for David Savard because he hasn't been a good player for them since signing the contract in 2021-22. He signed with the Canadiens after defeating them in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final with the Tampa Bay Lightning, thinking they could be a team that competes. However, the playoff run ended the careers of Shea Weber and Carey Price, which sent the Canadiens into a rebuild and wasted three seasons of Savard's career.
There's a good chance there won't be much mutual interest to get a deal done next offseason when Savard becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Canadiens already sent some defense out of town this offseason because of their depth in that area. The unfortunate side of the business is that the Canadiens should try and grab a prospect or some draft capital in return for Savard.
There's also a chance that the Canadiens include Savard in a trade to improve their forward depth. Savard's name has been in these rumors, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he is there when and if the Canadiens make that move. A possible trade scenario for Savard will be in one of the sections below. Let's look at some perfect fits for the last year of David Savard's contract.
A David Savard reunion with the Blue Jackets
The above picture is not an edited photo. It's from a 2021 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning when Savard played with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets traded Savard later that season to those same Lightning, where Savard won his first Stanley Cup. However, he spent the first ten seasons of his career with the Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets drafted him 94th overall in the 2009 draft after he starred with the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Savard was a fan favorite in Columbus, but the team headed into a rebuild and didn't have a need to keep Savard around at the 2021 trade deadline.
The Blue Jackets are still somewhat battling through that rebuild, but they are better with the additions of players like Johnny Gaudreau and Adam Fantilli. Adding Savard to the blue line with Zach Werenski, Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov, Erik Gudbranson, and Jack Johnson would make a formidable top six. If any of these players can't hang, they have top prospects David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk waiting in the wings.
The Ducks need another veteran defenseman
Speaking of reunions, we speculated that Brandon Montour may return to the Ducks to give them some leadership on defense. However, he decided to head to the Pacific Northwest to join the Seattle Kraken. Savard is the next right-hand defenseman on the board to fit on the Ducks' backend. There is also common ground between the Ducks and Canadiens, as Montreal may like to acquire Trevor Zegras if the deal is right.
The Ducks have plenty of defensive help on the way, as three of their prospects won the Defenseman of the Year in the three Canadian junior leagues in 2022-23. Savard would be a nice stop-gap to bolster the Ducks' defense and provide leadership to arriving young players. Cam Fowler and Radko Gudas are still in Anaheim but could use another right-handed shot.
The Ducks don't have any depth on the right side of their defense, as many left-handed shots had to play their off-side in 2023-24. For those who don't know, it's hard to play the right side as a left shot because you're putting yourself in a vulnerable position when picking up pucks off the boards. The Ducks prefer not to get one of their young defensemen hit into the boards from behind just because they're forcing them to play their wrong side.
Utah HC bolstering backend
Utah HC seems focused on icing a much better team than the Arizona Coyotes did in their final season. They made some big splashes early this offseason, acquiring Sean Durzi, John Marino, and Mikhail Sergachev. If Utah can find a way to add David Savard, the four would create a high-level top-four that are all new to the franchise.
Utah still has $22.6 million in cap space to make this move, as the former Coyotes owner didn't want to spend to the cap floor. New owner Ryan Smith will use that $22.6 million to ensure a good hockey team plays at the Delta Center this winter.
Savard gives Smith plenty of room to make more moves with his $3.5 million cap hit, and shouldn't cost him too much to acquire. The Canadiens need to rid themselves of a couple of defense contracts to make room for all their prospects in the pipeline.
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