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Canadiens Defenseman To Retire After Playoffs

A Montreal Canadiens veteran will hang up his skates soon.

Jon Alfano

Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Savard plays the puck near the boards against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Savard plays the puck near the boards against the Chicago Blackhawks. / David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Savard will retire at the end of the team's playoff run, he announced at a press conference Friday morning.

Savard, 37, is in his 14th NHL season and fourth with the Canadiens. The Quebec native has 15 points (one goal, 14 assists) and a -8 rating this season.

Lately, though, Savard's usage has seen a noticeable decline. He's now averaging just 16:35 of ice time per game on the season, down from over 20 minutes in each of his first three seasons with Montreal. Additionally, he hasn't even reached 15 minutes of ice time in a game since March 25.

That said, the veteran blue-liner is content as the Canadiens prepare for their first playoff appearance since 2021.

“I don’t think we need to have a conversation and go back and forth. I think it’s just the way it happens,” Savard said recently, per The Athletic. “I think the young guys are taking over, which is understandable. At some point, that’s what you want, you want the young guys to take over and take on more responsibility. That’s what they did. Right now, they’re playing really well, and it’s fun to see the team win.”

A 2009 fourth-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Savard has 166 points (41 goals, 125 assists) in 597 career regular-season games, as well as 16 points (one goal, 15 assists) in 57 playoff games. He won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021, ironically defeating the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.

Savard has never been the flashiest player in the league, but for his contributions in Columbus, Tampa Bay and now Montreal, his career has been a successful one.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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