New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils were supposed to be one of the best teams in the entire NHL this season. After a breakout season a year ago, they appeared poised to be a Stanley Cup contender, especially after they found a way to retain Timo Meier on a long term contract and made a shrewd trade for Tyler Toffoli.
They still sit outside a playoff spot after the quarter mark of the season and will be looking to upgrade their team at some point this season. While the Devils and Canadiens make sensible trade partners in a potential goaltender deal, a recent injury could open up a landing spot for Savard.
Dougie Hamilton has a torn pectoral muscle and is out indefinitely following surgery to repair the issue. While adding Savard would not replace Hamilton in the lineup, no one on the open market is going to step in and take over Hamilton's exact role.
Instead, the Devils are going to have to hope younger players like Luke Hughes can continue to expand their roles and a veteran like Savard could come in and handle some of the dirty work on the penalty kill and defensive situations.
The salary cap is really a non-factor as Hamilton will be placed on long-term injured reserve and the Devils will be allowed to replace that cap hit. We could even see a Savard and Allen trade but that seems like too much money to add to next year's cap so it would be unlikely to happen.
Bringing in Savard would allow Simon Nemec to continue developing in the AHL. The 19 year old has played well since being called up but it was not their plan to have him in the NHL at this time so adding a veteran would allow them to get back to their original plan for the second overall draft choice.