The Montreal Canadiens and David Savard have agreed to a four-year, $14 million deal, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has learned.
Savard was this spring’s most sought-after rental rearguard, bringing a healthy dose of sandpaper and strong defensive play to the defending Stanley Cup champions in Tampa Bay. The 2021 Cup champion now joins the club he helped defeat in the Final, which also happens to be his hometown team. The 30-year-old hails from Saint-Hyacinthe, Que, about an hour’s drive east of Montreal.
His new cap hit, $3.5 million, comes in nearly $1 million below his previous annual AAV of $4.25 on his last deal.
Up until his trade to Tampa, Savard had spent his entire NHL career with Columbus. In 597 regular-season games with the Blue Jackets, the 2009 fourth-rounder registered 41 career NHL goals and 125 assists for 166 points.
He now joins a Montreal squad dealing with the loss of captain Shea Weber, who is expected to miss the entire 2021-22 campaign and could be forced to retire due to several significant injuries.
The Canadiens are also believed to be bringing in fellow d-man Chris Wideman to help shore up depth on the blue line, as Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported earlier in the week.