Bruins GM Chiarelli puts Savard rumors to rest

NHL Hot Stove Editor Brandon Macdonald talks about the latest happenings in Beantown.

After the tumultuous battle that was known around the NHL Hot Stove parts as Kovy-Gate, the Boston Bruins finally received word that the seven-year contract they signed Marc Savard was valid.

The problem with the contract was that it averaged out to a $4 million per year cap hit, while it paid him $7 million in the first year and $525,000 in the final two years of the deal.

News broke early Saturday morning that the second submitted contract signed by Ilya Kovalchuk was approved. After this it was only time before the contracts signed by Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa and Savard were old news.

The latest Savvy trade rumors were that he could possibly be heading to the big apple in a deal that would see the New York Rangers send Matt Gilroy, Sean Avery and a draft pick for the playmaker.

Leaving many Bruins fans frantically worrying about the status of their forward, GM Peter Chiarelli put the rumors to rest, in an article written by ESPN’s James Murphy, saying that he reached out to Savard and told him he would be a Bruin this season. Chiarelli admitted to having trade discussions, but received nothing that would make him want to give up on Savard.

When it comes to centres, the Bruins are stock piled with them. They currently have NHL vets Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Daniel Paille on the roster. Time will tell if the second overall draft pick in 2010 Tyler Seguin will crack the lineup, and the consensus pick says he will.

The logjam up the middle gave Chiarelli all the more reason to deal Savard, but he made the smart choice to stand by him. Savard has 223 assists in 279 games for the Bruins and has proved his worth. Not to mention he has publicly stated he wants to stay in Boston for the rest of his career.

Keeping him seems like the easiest decision, for one if the team decides to keep Seguin in the lineup he will have a league all-star to learn the ropes from. Another reason is that the Bruins are a team built to compete now, with the likes of Zdeno Chara, Marco Sturm and Bergeron all UFAs at season’s end.

However, even with Sturm starting the year on the PUP list, the Bruins have some shuffling around to do. They are $3.5 million over the cap, so guys like Michael Ryder and Matt Hunwick could be moved before Sturm comes back.

It was hectic, but Bruins fans can now rest easy knowing that Savard will be in black and gold come puck drop in Prague.

Brandon Macdonald
NHLHS Editor
bmacdonald@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter @bMacdonald8