David Savard, 10/10
The Montreal Canadiens signed David Savard on the first day of free agency on a $3.5 million four-year deal.
Not only is he a great replacement for Shea Weber, but he’s also from the province, born in Ste-Hyacinthe.
He said he was happy to know the Canadiens were interested in signing him and is excited to come back home and play in Montreal.
Savard was drafted 94th overall in 2009 by the Columbus Blue Jackets and started in the AHL in 2010-11. He later entered the NHL in 2011-12, though he kept playing in the AHL for two more years until completely switching to the NHL in 2013-14.
He played with Columbus for 10 years, until he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning this past season in a three-team trade.
Overall this past season, he only tallied one goal and six points in 54 regular-season games, and five assists in 20 playoff games. What makes him an incredible defenceman, however, is his defensive play and his ability to block shots, which is why I am sure he will do a great job at replacing Weber on five on five and on the penalty kill.
His $3.5 AAV, which is the same as Ben Chiarot and Joel Edmundson, is probably what made me give this signing a 10/10 instead of a 9/10, considering he previously had a $4.25 million AAV.