Savard Rumors Round 2

It has been a tough six months for Marc Savard. First, his head is almost violently removed from his body by a blatant dirty hit. Then his teammates fail to respond. After working back into hockey form, Savard sparks the Bruins to an exciting win in the opeing game of the Flyer's series only to fall victim of the worst hockey collapse in recent memory. And that's when the trade rumors began for the Bruin's leading playmaker and scorer.

It was shocking to me to hear the rumors surface around the trade deadline. While most rumors tend to hold no weight, the Savard rumor seemed imminent at various times. There were just too many outlets reporting that the Bruins center was on the market. Now if you have been reading this blog since I started, you know how I feel about Savard and how I felt about the rumors earlier this summer. After rumors died down after the draft, I let out a sigh of relief while Savard let the media in Canada know how he was hurt by the thought of being dealt. Can you blame him? Savard had just signed long term in Boston for a discounted price and risked injury by rushing back to help in the playoffs while still recovering from a serious head shot. Savy wants to be in Boston; he wants to help finish what he started by delivering a Cup to Boston. Now with Nathan Horton at his disposal, Savard had reason to be excited about the upcoming season.

Unfortunately, those ugly and unfortunate trade rumors have resurfaced once again as a source close to the team says the Bruins are still "actively shopping." While something has to be done to provide cap room, this shouldn't be the move the Bruins make. By trading Savard, that would mean the B's think Krecji is ready to be a top line center and it would also put Seguin as the 3rd line center and potentially give him work as the center on the second power play unit. While Savard would certainly bring more in return in a trade than Ryder, having 3 solid centers is a formula that shouldn't be abandoned as it seemed to work well for Pittsburgh last season.

What worries me is that the rumors resurfacing this close to the start of training camp might make it that much harder for Savard to return to Boston. While such is the plight of a professional athlete, constantly hearing your name floated around can be disheartening and discouraging. Could this second round of trade rumors spell the end of Savard? It definetly can make for an awkward training camp, but it does come with the profession.

Here is my take: Savard is going to be a Bruin this year. The B's would have to get back a prospect or high draft pick again this season in order to get sufficient cap relief. With the investigation into Savard's contract looming, that may be enough to keep possible suitors at bay.