Setting the record straight on Savard
By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com
There's a pretty good chance Marc Savard won't be with the Bruins at training camp in September.
There are still trade scenarios out there even though Savard survived the frenzied first day of NHL free agency.
The B's spoke with several teams about deals for the playmaking center, and those exploratory conversations went well beyond the Maple Leafs and Senators . . . teams to which Savard would willingly relocate, because it would move him closer to his family.
But nothing came of discussions with the Flames and Canucks, among others – it's become pretty clear Peter Chiarelli is looking for a top-four defenseman in exchange for their top offensive center – and the B's are at least putting up a unified satisfaction front if this is what they've got when the players arrives in training camp.
"I said going into this period that we'd look into some trades and we still will as we let the market shake out a bit," said Chiarelli. "As far as needs right now, I don't really have any pressing needs as far as purely acquiring anyone on the free-agent market. I don't think you'll see much from us in the next couple of days."
On its face, however, the effort to move Savard has many scratching their heads vigorously.
After all, Savard just committed to a cap-friendly, seven-year contract extension last season, and his look of pure elation after scoring the overtime game-winner of Game One against the Flyers was one of the lasting images of the entire Stanley Cup playoffs.
The pass-happy center has been an integral part of a Black-and-Gold squad on an upward trend since he first arrived as a free agent, and he's been given heaps of credit for becoming more of a two-way player since arriving in Boston. He's also been among the leading assist men in the entire NHL since arriving on the scene in Boston before injuries and a hellacious concussion bite into his last season.
All of those pro-Savard factors have caused many to wonder aloud if it was off-the-ice issues driving much of the current Savard trade talk.
The rumors seemed to coincide with Cam Neely's ascension to the B's presidency, and the belief Neely is as unimpressed with Savard's game as his predecessor, Harry Sinden, who disparagingly compared the center to an ineffectual .300 singles hitter in baseball.
Then there was Savard's complete non-reaction to the "too many men on the ice" penalty in the waning moments of Game Seven against the Flyers, which led to Philly's game-winning goal. Savard waved his stick for a line change and then remained on the ice as Vladimir Sobotka hopped over the boards to replace him.
First came the penalty, then came the crushing goal and defeat -- and then came the ever-popular blame game.
Savard claimed he didn't know what happened while allowing his young Czech Republic teammate to take partial blame, and then Savard half-heartedly took accountability for his actions three days later while meeting with the media.
It wasn't a shining moment for a 33-year-old player who should be a respected leader in the B's dressing room, but really hasn't evolved into that guy despite his stature on the team.
Naturally, the whispers of Neely/Savard friction have gained traction and spread like only Internet wildfires can because Neely was so very different as a player: accountable, tough, selfless and somebody that consistently looked out for his teammates before himself.
So the B's Hall of Fame President stepped up and addressed some of these Savard rumors with CSNNE.com earlier this week, and effectively put them to bed.
Is there a difference of opinion or hockey philosophies between Neely and Savard, and what does the B's president think of the No. 1 center as a player and as a teammate?
"When you see and read any of that stuff, it's certainly speculation," Neely said to CSNNE.com while discussing any perceived differences between himself and Savard. "I haven't said anything of the sort and it's certainly speculation on the media's part.
"I don't really want to comment on any individual players with any kind of dialogue like that. Marc Savard has come in here for three years and our franchise has gotten better. He's a playmaker and he's got that skill-set that not a lot of players have. We were a team four years ago that wasn't making the playoffs and now we've been there three years in a row. I understand it's the business of the media, but I don't want to add anything to fuel any of those fires."
Neely was also asked if the perceived lack of accountability over the too-many-men-on-the ice penalty was something of a last straw when it comes to Savard. Did his unwillingness to step up and "own" the situation in any way contribute to the team potentially shipping Savard out of town?
"I read that, too . . . that we're moving guys because of the too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty," said Neely. "That's not why you move players, I don't think."
Chiarelli completely agreed with Neely's assessment during a radio interview on 850 WEEI Wednesday morning, and basically said that Savard trade rumors stem more from the arrival of No. 2 overall pick Tyler Seguin.
With Seguin potentially in the fold as a franchise center, and with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci already on board, Boston has a surplus of quality centers. Savard is the oldest and most defensively-challenged of the bunch.
That's why No. 91 has been in trade conversations throughout the summer.
But nobody will be heartbroken if he returns to Boston and Seguin starts the season as a winger.
"[Savard] is good in the locker room, he's funny, he's quick-witted . . . If there's speculation on Savard, it's because we've acquired a guy [Seguin] who's going to be a premier center or winger," said Chiarelli on WEEI. "That's where it all stems from and the rest [of the rumors around Savard] just grows and mushrooms."
Call it spin doctoring, call it maximizing their assets or call it saying all the right things, but Chiarelli and Neely are on the same page when it comes to dealing Savard and the reasoning behind it.
The B's front office says it's all about roster management and what's transpiring on the ice, and anything involving Savard is strictly a business decision.
That's their story and they're sticking to it.
