Tag Archives: Marc Savard

February 8, 2011 · 7:11 AM

Good Bye Savard

Remember last year that we didn’t hear from Savard for a while? He had to sit in a dimly lit room following the Matt Cooke hit. He came back (some say too early) in the playoffs, scored the game winner in game one against the Flyers, but was eased into the lineup again this season.

Well, following another concussion in Colorado on January 22ns his future in hockey was in serious doubt. Doubt that was confirmed yesterday as the Bruins placed him on the injured reserved list ending his season and possibly his career.

The difference between last year’s concussion and this year’s? This year it was before the trade deadline that Savard was hurt. Meaning that Peter Chiarelli has a chance to make a move. The Bruins are still sitting on a ton of draft picks meaning they’ll likely put their own #1 pick out there since they have Toronto’s #1 again this year (thanks Phil Kessel).

Unlike last year when there was a big name out there with Ilya Kovalchuk, there’s not a huge name out there this year. Brendan Morrison’s name has been mentioned but he’s more of a depth replacement than a top tired center. The big name out there is Brad Richards from Dallas but with that team in the thick of a playoff hunt it’s unlikely they’ll deal him even if it’s a blockbuster package to land him.

There’s of course the issue that the B’s still need a defenseman. At least that’s what they’ve been rumored to be in the market for before Savard went down.

The deadline is about three weeks away. Personally I think this will make or break Peter Chiarelli’s career as Bruins GM. If he stands pat and doesn’t make a big deal and the team is ousted early in the playoffs again, we could see Cam clean house in the offseason with both Chiarelli and Julien losing their jobs.

For now, we wait and see.

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December 8, 2010 · 6:51 AM

Bruins Win It In OT

I won’t lie to you and tell you that I watched the whole game. I didn’t.

I got home around 9:45 last night. I had checked in on the radio on my ride home to hear the Bruins were tied with the Sabres at one heading into the third period.

When I got home I pulled up ESPN.com to see what the final was. The ESPN home page indicated that the Bruins and Sabres were tied at two with 3:14 left in the period. Well it turns out that’s when the Bruins Marc Savard took a high stick to the face and put the Bruins on the power play.

I quickly turned on the TV to see the rest of the overtime as well as the shootout if it went that far. I turned into NESN to see Theo Epstein being interviewed. Um, WTF?

Then I remembered that the Bruins (and the NHL) have been relegated to Siberia of TV, the VS network. What channel is that? Well, just keep going up from NESN and you’ll find it. At least we got Brick on the telecast.

Where I was going with this whole story is that I tuned in right in time to see the game winning goal. But after the goal was scored the game continued. In fact the puck went down into the Bruins zone and they were attacking again.

Again, WTF? I know that was a goal. Right?

Well, that’s a rule in the new NHL that I have to be honest helps the game and frustrates at the same time. They don’t review the play until there’s a break in the action. Again, great for the game in the fact that the action continues without stupid commercials. Frustrating with the having to wait when you know that the game should be over.

A whistle in the action had the referees over to the booth where they call Toronto to review the play. Funny that the Bruins played the reply on the jumbotron and the place went bananas. I thought that Dennis Seidenberg’s shot had gone in but Mark Recchi’s stick apparently hit the puck and he gets credit for the goal.

Bruins win it in overtime for the first time this year.

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June 28, 2010 · 5:46 AM

Upgrading The Black And Gold

It started when the team got rid of whipping boy Wideman last week and got back a bruiser wing that can score in Horton. We knew the draft was coming on Friday night but didn’t know which pick Edmonton would take leaving the Bruins with the other.

Well the Oilers drafted Taylor Hall and that made it very clear that the Bruins were going to get Tyler Seguin (pronounced like Reagan as in Ronald Reagan). Seguin and Hall both had the same amount of points last season in the Canadian Junior League but hockey insiders insist that Hall did it on a team full of players. Seguin did it basically all by himself, according to the scouts, as his team didn’t have nearly the talent around him that Hall did.

After drafting Seguin, who will likely move to wing, the Bruins continued to draft offense. It broke down offense in the second, fourth and fifth rounds, then a goalie and defenseman with their final pick they got in a trade from Chicago. Here are the picks:

SECOND ROUND: Forwards Jared Knight (32nd) and Ryan Spooner (45th).

FOURTH ROUND: Forward Craig Cunningham (97th).

FIFTH ROUND: Forward Justin Florek (135th).

SIXTH ROUND: Goalie Zane Gothberg (165th).

SEVENTH ROUND: Defenseman Zach Trotman (210th)

The team also traded Vladimir Sobotka to St Louis for Boston University defenseman David Warsofsky. He’s only 5’9″ but apparently is very good. It’s unclear if he’ll be leaving BU and joining the Bruins at this point.

But the biggest news is the trades that haven’t happened. Yet. The Bruins are attempting to move Tim Thomas and clear $5 million off the cap. With the emergence of Tuukka there’s really no need for $5 million to be sitting on the bench. The hot rumor is the Flyers and that basically their entire roster is available. I’d love to see a Simon Gagne for Thomas trade if that’s the case, but not holding my breath.

The other hot rumor is that Marc Savard is on his way out of town. Just signed to a seven year extension in December he does have a no trade clause that apparently he has waived in order to negotiate a trade to Toronto or Ottawa. It’s pretty clear that the Senators have no cap space to take on another center but Toronto could make the deal and in return the Bruins could land defenseman Tomáš Kaberle. I’d make that deal today.

So again, it’s clear the Bruins aren’t done dealing. It’s great to be talking hockey at the end of June. Let’s hope the Bruins don’t disappoint.

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April 29, 2010 · 5:52 AM

Bring On Philly

At least it’s an afternoon game on Saturday. That was my first thought seeing that the Bruins drew Philly in the second round. What should have been my first thought was, holy crap the 6th seed Bruins have home ice advantage in the playoffs. Should Montreal knock out Pittsburgh and the B’s get by the Flyers, that’s home ice through the Eastern Conference.

What are the chances the Bruins get by the Flyers? Pretty good actually.

The Flyers goaltending situation had been a mess all season until Brian Boucher somehow caught fire against the Devils. But can you really think that he’s going to sustain that fire? Possibly but I’m betting on Tuukka to be the better goalie in the series.

And while the Bruins are getting back their best scorer in Marc Savard, the Flyers are still without theirs in Simon Gagne. They also don’t have Ian Laperriere or Jeff Carter. I think that much talent sidelined for the Flyers is a huge advantage for the Bruins.

So short and sweet today but I’m picking the Bruins in six. I think it will take them a but to get the lines clicking with Savard back but once they are clicking, it will be lightning in a bottle.

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April 28, 2010 · 5:47 AM

Selfishly Rooting For Washington

Listening to sports radio again yesterday I heard the possibilities for this weekend. If the Canadiens win, the Bruins would host the Fliers Saturday night. If Washington wins the Bruins would play at Pittsburgh on Friday and Sunday. Given the fact the Red Sox are boring me to sleep, I’d rather have two hockey games to watch this weekend than more boring baseball.

The Cup is going through Pittsburgh and/or Washington at some point in the playoffs, so why not ride your hot goaltender against them right now. With the return of Marc Savard to the lineup the offense is going to be that much better and of course there’s that whole Matt Cooke thing.

Personally I think the Bruins could beat the Penguins. I’m not saying that they’d sweep the series or anything but I don’t see the Penguins playing a physical brand of hockey with the Bruins. I think the Bruins would knock them around and if they try to agitate them with Cooke, the Bruins will be smart. They were smart against Buffalo and watched those second, retaliatory hits avoiding stupid penalties. And even when they had penalties against them, they shut out Buffalo’s power play for the series.

We’ll know tomorrow morning for sure but for now, I’m taking the Capitals because I really hate the Canadiens.

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