A strength for the Montreal Canadiens has been established over the past few drafts because the blueline has been built so well, having the veterans to guide the youth is crucial.
One particular name comes to mind when discussing trading a defender out of Montreal, who would draw attention from team's hoping to beef up their blueline. David Savard has been everything the Canadiens could hope for and then some. He comes to the aid of teammates without the blink of an eye and he is the first one to sacrifice his body to block a shot.
Not only that, though, he has been a mentor for many of the young defensemen in Montreal. It has been majoritively the left-shot defenders that have lined up beside him and the way he plays the game shows each of them how to play an honest, hardnosed game. Kaiden Guhle's defensive game grew a ton while playing beside Savard and Jordan Harris and Jayden Struble have showed tremendous maturity and poise, thanks to being able to lean on the veteran blueliner.
Savard's Stanley Cup ring earns him a ton of respect in the locker room, and with such a young core, having that kind of leadership is crucial for a team building a sustainable culture, You can't teach experience or heart and Savard has spades of both, which rubs off on all of the defenseman. While the return would help the Habs, it's hard to imagine that it would be more beneficial to the Canadiens than having Savard's guidance on the blue line.
It has been Mike Matheson and Savard who have led the blueline with their experience and leadership, whether it be through their play or vocally. You can build a blueline with young pieces, but the NHL season is a long and treacherous one, so having some veterans to calm the storm is important. Another season or two to let the young defenders funnel into the lineup and learn from Savard makes a lot of sense.
Guhle benefitted from Savard's guidance, which paid huge dividends this past season on the top pair alongside Matheson. Arber Xhekaj, I forgot to mention earlier has also learned quite a bit from Savard and that will continue next year. There are plenty of other reasons to keep Savard around and for that reason, there is a huge argument to be made in favour of keeping Savard around in Montreal.