Marc Savard

Marc Savard
Born	(1977-07-17) July 17, 1977 Ottawa, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Boston Bruins Atlanta Thrashers Calgary Flames New York Rangers
NHL draft	91st overall, 1995 New York Rangers
Playing career	1997–present

Marc Savard (born July 17, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the New York Rangers, by whom he was originally drafted in 1995, the Calgary Flames and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Playing career

Early career (1993–2002)

Savard played major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Oshawa Generals, beginning in 1993–94. After his second season with the Generals, in which he scored a league-leading 139 points, he was selected 91st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. He continued to play in the OHL for two more seasons and earned his second Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as league leading scorer in 1996–97 with 130 points. Savard then added 27 points in 15 playoff games, guiding the Generals to the 1997 J. Ross Robertson Cup and an appearance in the 1997 Memorial Cup.

In 1997–98, Savard was assigned by the Rangers to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack. He put up 74 points with Hartford while being called up to play in 28 games for the Rangers in his rookie professional campaign. The following season, he earned an expanded role with the Rangers and recorded 45 points in 70 games.

On June 26, 1999, Savard was traded to the Calgary Flames, along with the Rangers' first-round choice in 1999 (Oleg Saprykin), in exchange for the rights to Jan Hlavac, Calgary's first-round pick (Jamie Lundmark) and third-round pick (later traded back to Calgary; Calgary selected Craig Anderson) in the 1999 Draft. Savard continued to improve with the Flames and in 2000–01, he finished second in team scoring to Jarome Iginla with 65 points.

Atlanta Thrashers (2002–06)

Shortly after beginning his fourth season with the Flames, he was acquired by the Atlanta Thrashers from Calgary in exchange for Ruslan Zainullin on November 15, 2002. Playing with superstar wingers Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk, Savard became a point-per-game player and recorded 52 points in 45 games during an injury shortened 2003–04 season.

Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Savard played in the Swiss leagues with HC Thurgau of Nationalliga B and briefly with SC Bern of Nationalliga A. When NHL play resumed the following season, he emerged as a top talent in the NHL with a career-high 97 points, good for ninth overall in the league.

Boston Bruins (2006–present)

At the end of his breakthrough season, he became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Boston Bruins to a four-year, $20 million contract on July 1, 2006. He picked up where he left off in Atlanta and led the Bruins in scoring in his first season with the team, tallying 96 points. His 74 assists were good for third in the league for the second consecutive season.

In his second season with the Bruins, Savard was named to his first NHL All-Star Game in 2008, replacing an injured Dany Heatley. He scored the game-winning goal with 21 seconds remaining in the third period. Although Savard's offensive production was cut down to 78 because of injury in the 2007–08 season, he made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut after eleven seasons in the NHL. As the Bruins faced the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round, Savard scored his first NHL playoff goal in the first overtime of game three. He tallied 6 points in the series, but the Bruins were eliminated by the Canadiens in 7 games.

Savard was named as a reserve to his second All-Star game in Montreal the following season, in 2008–09 and helped lead the Bruins to a first place finish in the Eastern Conference. Savard led the Bruins in scoring with 88 points in 82 games before adding 13 points in 11 post-season games. Playing the Canadiens in the first round for the second consecutive year, Savard and the Bruins swept the series in four games. He advanced to the second round for the first time in his career, where the Bruins were eliminated in seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Seven games into the 2009–10 season, Savard sustained a broken foot while inadvertently blocking a shot. After he was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, tests revealed he had been playing with an injured foot since taking a previous shot in the foot during training camp. Savard was placed on the long-term injured reserve on October 21, 2009. Shortly after returning the lineup, the Bruins signed Savard to a seven-year extension on December 1, worth $28.05 million (approximately $4.2 million per season). The deal is spread out with approximately $14 million the first two years and $14 million for the remaining five.

On January 7, 2010, after only 28 seconds into his first shift on the ice, Marc Savard suffered a right knee injury after colliding with Jonathan Toews from the Chicago Blackhawks. After getting an MRI, he was placed on injured reserve with a minor MCL tear in his right knee. No surgery was required.

On March 7, 2010 Savard suffered a Grade 2 concussion in the 3rd period of the Bruins game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after taking a hit to the head from Matt Cooke. The on-ice officials did not penalize Cooke for the hit, and on March 10, Colin Campbell declared that the league would not suspend or fine Matt Cooke. Savard was not taken to a hospital following the incident but stayed behind at a Pittsburgh hotel for the night before returning to Boston the following day. On the March 13, 2010 edition of Hockey Night in Canada, Don Cherry joined the growing chorus of broadcasters, NHL players, and hockey writers calling for a ban on head-shots and for Cooke's suspension. Cherry provided video highlights of Cooke's history of dirty hits and attempts to injure fellow players and recalled an instance in 2009, in which, having been confronted by Cooke, Cherry accused him of being a "gutless, backstabbing little Bitch .".

Savard had been cleared to play for the 2010 postseason against the Philadelphia Flyers after their victory against the Buffalo Sabres. He scored the winning goal in overtime in the Bruins Game 1 win of the series.

Awards

• Won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy (OHL top scorer) in 1995 and 1997.
• Won the CHL Top Scorer Award in 1995.
• Named the NHL Offensive Player of the Week for October 5–8, 2005.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2008 and 2009.

Records

• Oshawa Generals franchise all-time points leader - 413 points in 238 games (1993–94 to 1996–97)
• Atlanta Thrashers franchise record for most assists in consecutive games - 7 in 2 games (November 11–12, 2005)
• Atlanta Thrashers franchise record for most single-season assists - 69 in 2005–06

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992–93	Metcalfe Jets	OJHL-B		36	44	55	99	38		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Oshawa Generals	OHL		61	18	39	57	24		5	4	3	7	8
1994–95	Oshawa Generals	OHL		66	43	96	139	78		7	5	6	11	8
1995–96	Oshawa Generals	OHL		47	28	59	87	77		5	4	5	9	6
1996–97	Oshawa Generals	OHL		64	43	87	130	94		18	13	24	37	20
1997–98	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		58	21	53	74	66		15	8	19	27	24
1997–98	New York Rangers	NHL		28	1	5	6	4		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	New York Rangers	NHL		70	9	36	45	38		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Hartford Wolfpack	AHL		9	3	10	13	16		7	1	12	13	16
1999–00	Calgary Flames	NHL		78	22	31	53	56		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Calgary Flames	NHL		77	23	42	65	46		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Calgary Flames	NHL		56	14	19	33	48		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Calgary Flames	NHL		10	1	2	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		57	16	31	47	77		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		45	19	33	52	85		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	SC Bern	Swiss-A		5	1	2	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	HC Thurgau	Swiss-B		13	9	19	28	10		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		82	28	69	97	100		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Boston Bruins	NHL		82	22	74	96	96		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Boston Bruins	NHL		74	15	63	78	66		7	1	5	6	6
2008–09	Boston Bruins	NHL		82	25	63	88	70		11	6	7	13	4
2009–10	Boston Bruins	NHL		41	10	23	33	14		7	1	2	3	12
NHL totals				782	205	491	696	708		25	8	14	22	22

Golf

During the offseason, Marc Savard qualified for the 2007 Royal Canadian Golf Association's Canadian Men's Mid-Amateur Golf Championship.

External links

• Marc Savard player profile at NHL.com
• Marc Savard player profile at TSN.ca
• Marc Savard career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database