No contract talks between Canadiens, pending UFA Savard
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The Montreal Canadiens acquired a veteran defenceman with term this week in Alexandre Carrier, and it appears his arrival could signal that David Savard's tenure with the team is coming to an end.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports there have been no negotiations between the Canadiens and Savard, who is a pending unrestricted free agent and expected to draw interest leading up to the trade deadline.
"It's not hard to draw a straight line between the arrival of Carrier and the eventual departure of David Savard, quality veteran for the Habs the last few years," LeBrun explained on Insider Trading. "He's a pending UFA, David Savard. There have not been any talks at all between Habs management and Savard's camp about a potential one-year extension, none of that. So it does feel like this would be his last year in Montreal.
"And inevitably, if the Habs are where they are in the standings, closer to March 7, probably a rental trade to another team for David Savard, although I don't think Montreal is in any hurry to move him, because the whole point of getting Carrier as well was to shelter some of their youth on defence, and that's why they made that deal."
Savard, 34, has six assists in 29 games this season while averaging 18:49 of ice time - fourth among defencemen on the team. He carries a cap hit of $3.5 million on his expiring contract.
The Canadiens acquired Carrier, who will make his debut on Friday, from the Nashville Predators Wednesday evening in exchange for 23-year-old Justin Barron.
Carrier, 28, has one goal and seven points in 28 games this season. He signed a three-year, $11.25 million contract extension with the Predators in the off-season, which carries a cap hit of $3.75 million.
While moving Savard would be a selling move, that isn't the only priority for Montreal. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports Wednesday's trade is an example of the team's wish to bolster their roster.
"Kent Hughes, the general manager there, has made no secret of the fact that he is open for business," Dreger said on Early Trading. "Now, he's not selling off good young assets, even though Justin Barron, a talented young defenceman was part of the deal going to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Carrier, but the reason behind that is twofold.
"No. 1, we know what that Montreal Canadiens blueline should look like in the not too distant future. So you're going to see the likes of David Reinbacher, you're going to see Logan Mailloux occupying a full-time position on that Montreal blueline. Alright, so they create a little bit more room there, but they also bring in the experience of Alexandre Carrier and that could help them kind of make their way to the future.
"But in the meantime, if someone were to make an offer on say veteran defenceman like Savard or (Mike) Matheson, then this gives backfill to Kent Hughes to consider that between now and March 7th. So Kent Hughes is in a pretty good spot in terms of trying to bolster what he already has."
Matheson, 30, has two goals and 16 points in 29 games this season while averaging a team-high 24:28 of ice time. He is under contract through next season at a cap hit of $4.875 million.