Inactive Since 2011, Marc Savard’s Contract Has One More Year On It

The 2016-2017 NHL Season begins with Marc Savard still on the books for the New Jersey Devils, although it’s been close to six years since his last NHL game.

Savard signed a 7-year, $28 million extension with the Boston Bruins in 2009, but Savard missed half of the 2009-2010 season due to a broken foot seven games into the season, a minor MCL tear in his right knee later in the season and a concussion on March 7, 2010. That hit on him by Matt Cooke went unpunished in the game and by the league, and in the aftermath, the NHL instituted a new rule that more heavily penalized blindside hits. Savard played in the 2010 postseason.

In the next season, on January 22, 2011, Savard suffered his second concussion in less than a year, hit by Matt Hunwick of the Colorado Avalanche. The Bruins shut him down for the season and Savard couldn’t even fly to Vancouver and be part of the Bruins celebrations after they won the Stanley Cup against the Canucks.

He was shut down for the 2011-2012 season as well, with general manager Peter Chiarelli saying that from what he saw, heard and read, it’s very unlikely Savard will play again. Due to post-concussion syndrome, Savard indeed didn’t play again. His contract was traded to the Florida Panthers on July 1, 2015. It was moved again last June to the New Jersey Devils,  along with a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in return for Paul Thompson and Graham Black.

This will be the final season of Savard’s contract, coming with a cap hit of $4.027 million, before it expires. He was recently honored by the Oshawa Generals, hoisting his #27 up to the rafters, retiring his jersey. Savard played for the OHL team from 1993 through 1997, and is still the franchise scoring leader with 413 points.

In the NHL, he played for the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and Bruins. He was a two-time All-Star for Boston (2008-2009), and despite his not having played the required number of games for his name to be automatically included in the Stanley Cup engraving, his name was included on the Stanley Cup, as he had missed games only because of injury.