yeah -- but that's just it
if they're talking about getting a bunch of 4th liners and b or c prospects then they might as well just hold onto him and see if he rebounds. the worst case scenario would be that he continues to be an injury prone 60-70 point centre. if that's what he is... they'll still be able to trade him for a pile of crap. becuase $4mn is more than reasonable for a player like that.
but it's more likely that he rebounds and his numbers go back up to the 80 point range. and if he does (and stays healthy) then it would be f'ing stupid to trade him for a bag of pucks.
that just isn't going to happen right now. i'd love to get savard for garbage like mitchell and stefanovich, but it's beyond unlikely.
and hl.. i know bobby mac has a nice track record and more respectability than a lot of others. but rumours and inside 'scoops' are sexy these days and that's what sells. over the past two years he has become just as guilty of silly rumour mongering as any of the others..... even if his sources tend to be more relaible.
The issue for me when I look at the Bruins roster and try to figure out Chia's motivation here is actually pretty simple.
Currently the B's have 4 centres who can centre the 3rd line or higher. If Segiun has a strong rookie year and looks like a legit top 6 centre by years end, they can let Bergeron walk. Krejci had a very strong playoff after a pretty predictable sophomore slump.
For this season, the B's, even without Savard would be fairly strong up the middle, with 3 talented centres capable for at least 50+ points. They do however, have a pretty serious deficiency on the blueline and no cap space to fix it with (again)
Chiarelli has had Tim Thomas on the market now for a few weeks and has probably received next to zero interest (at the very least, there hasn't been a single rumour linking Thomas to any other team to my knowledge). If he's unable to unload Thomas, and feels that he needs help on the blueline, the addition of Seguin, coupled with the injury and uncertain long term status of Savard makes Savard the next name on the list of guys to try to move.
For a pure salary dump, it makes sense. It's not a good move when you look at it in an isolated sense, but when viewed within a larger framework it does make sense. It's not a move you ever want to be in the position to have to make as a GM, you would obviously rather move Thomas or Ryder.
