David Savard’s Canadiens teammates like to call him “Big Play Dave.”
It’s a little bit tongue-in-cheek for a defensive defenceman who had scored 53 goals in 799 career NHL regular-season games before facing the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night at the Bell Centre and never more than 11 goals in a season.
But in junior, Savard was definitely “Big Play Dave.” The St-Hyacinthe native posted 13-64-77 totals in 64 regular-season games with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats in 2009-10 and added 1-14-15 totals in 21 playoff games as his team won the league championship. Savard was named the top defenceman in the QMJHL and also the entire CHL that season, a year after being selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth round (94th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft.
On Thursday night, Savard will become only the 22nd player from the 2009 NHL Draft to play 800 games in the league. Twelve of those 22 players were selected in the first round and three in the second round.
When Savard scored his career-high 11 goals with the Blue Jackets in 2014-15, three of them came on the power play. He had one more power-play goal on March 8, 2016 for the Blue Jackets and hasn’t scored another one since.
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound defenceman had to learn to adjust his game to stay in the NHL. Savard became a defensive defenceman and a penalty-killer rather than an offensive defenceman who could play the power play.
I asked Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis after Thursday’s morning skate what’s the biggest lesson his young defencemen could learn from Savard and he paused to think for 10 seconds before answering. When St. Louis does that, you know his answer is going to be a good one.
“I feel like to be intelligent enough to know how you need to adjust your game to have a career,” St. Louis said. “Not every offensive defenceman comes in the league and wants to be a shutdown PK guy. You might have to be that for a little bit. Maybe you build your runway … maybe now expose your offensive game. But sometimes it’s what the team needs right now. Can you do that? Can you sit in that chair until you get a better one? I think that’s what helped Savvy.”
This is probably Savard’s last season with the Canadiens since the 33-year-old is in the final year of his contract with a US$3.5 million salary-cap hit and he should have value before the NHL trade deadline on March 7. Savard is a winner, having won the QMJHL championship in 2010, the IIHF world championship with Team Canada in 2015 and the Stanley Cup in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The lessons Savard’s young Canadiens teammates have learned from him will continue to pay dividends long after he’s gone.
“He’s been great for me and I think great for all the young guys,” 22-year-old defenceman Justin Barron said Thursday morning about Savard. “He’s an unbelievable person, great player, too. Really happy for him (reaching 800 games).”
Barron added that the biggest lesson he’s learned on the ice from Savard is about positioning.
“He’s obviously not the fastest skater, but he’s always in the right spot,” Barron said. “He does a really good job getting in lanes, blocking passing lanes as well as shot lanes. His stick’s really effective, too.”
Canadiens forward Kirby Dach appreciates the way Savard helped him get through “some tough times” last season off the ice after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second game.
“He’s just such a great human being to begin with,” Dach said Thursday morning. “I mean he’s a great player, but the way he carries himself off the ice and how well he takes care of his teammates and his family. You can see it when he’s around his kids and his wife. He’s definitely a role model for us younger guys in this room.”
The Canadiens’ Josh Anderson knows Savard very well since they were teammates for six seasons in Columbus before they both ended up in Montreal.
“First thing that comes to mind is that leadership role,” Anderson said about Savard. “I’ve known him since Columbus and he hasn’t changed one bit. It’s a big milestone for sure to play that many games in this league. He’s very fortunate and we’re very fortunate to have him. I know a lot of guys in here look up to him and it’s going to be a special night for him, for sure.
“It’s hard to last that long in this league, especially the way he plays,” Anderson added. “The brand of hockey, blocking shots, hitting, things like that. It doesn’t go unnoticed. He’s played many games and hopefully he’s got a few more years in him. … He’s one of the happiest guys in the locker room. If it’s not Cole (Caufield), it’s Savvy. He always brings a smile to our locker room and a positive attitude. He definitely lightens the mood around here, for sure.
“We’re very fortunate to have Savvy.”