Marc Savard

At 46 years old, Marc Savard has this physical status:

Marc Savard (born July 17, 1977) is a former professional ice hockey center and the new assistant coach of the St. Louis Blues.

He played for the New York Rangers (who originally drafted him in 1995), the Atlanta Flames, the Atlanta Thrashers, and the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League (NHL). Savard's career came to an end in the 2010-11 season due to post-concussion syndrome.

He did not announce his resignation until the end of his Boston deal in 2016.

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Playing career

Savard played in junior hockey with the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 1993 to 1994. In the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, he was 91st overall in his second season with the GM, in which he scored a league-leading 139 points. He continued to play in the OHL for two seasons, winning his second Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the OHL's top scorer with 130 points in 1996–97. Savard went on to win 15 playoff games, leading the Generals to the 1997 J. Ross Robertson Cup and an appearance in the 1997 Memorial Cup.

Savard was assigned by the Rangers to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack, in 1997–98. He scored 74 points for Hartford when he was called up to play in 28 games for the Rangers in his rookie professional career. He spent an extended time with the Rangers in 70 games this season, scoring 45 points in 70 games.

He was traded to the Calgary Flames in 1999 (Oleg Saprykin) and third-round pick (later traded back to Calgary) and third-round pick Craig Anderson (later selected Craig Anderson) in the 1999 Draft, shortly after Savard's first full season with the Rangers. Savard continued to progress with the Flames, finishing second in team scoring to Jarome Iginla with 65 points in 2000.

Savard was acquired by the Atlanta Thrashers from Calgary in exchange for Ruslan Zainullin on November 15, 2002, shortly after beginning his fourth season with the Flames. Savard, a winger for Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk, became a point-per-game player with a total score of 52 games in 45 games during an injury-shortened 2003–04 season.

Savard competed in the Swiss leagues with HC Thurgau of Nationalliga B and briefly with SC Bern of Nationalliga A. Despite the 2004-05 lockout, he appeared in the 2004-05 NHL lockout. With a career-high 97 points, he established himself as a top talent in the NHL the following season, good for ninth overall in the league.

Savard joined the Boston Bruins as an unrestricted free agent at the end of his rookie season and agreed to a four-year, $20 million contract on July 1, 2006. He started where he left off in Atlanta and led the Bruins in scoring in his first season with the team, tallying 96 points. For the second season in a row, his 74 assists were good for third in the league, behind Joe Thornton (92) and Sidney Crosby (84).

Savard played in his second season with the Bruins in 2008, replacing an injured Dany Heatley. In the third period, he scored the game-winning goal with 21 seconds remaining. Despite Savard's offensive output being reduced to 78 points due to injury in the 2007–08 season, he made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut after 11 seasons in the NHL. In Game 3's first overtime of the Bruins, Savard scored his first NHL playoff goal. He earned six points in the series, but the Bruins were defeated by the Canadiens in seven games.

Savard was named as a reserve for his second All-Star Game in Montreal in 2008–09, and he helped lead the Bruins to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Savard led the Bruins in scoring in 82 games before being down by 13 points in 11 playoff games. Savard and the Bruins swept the first round of the Canadiens for the second year in a row. For the first time in his career, he made it to the second round, where the Bruins were defeated in seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Savard sustained a fractured foot while inadvertently blocking a shot in seven games into the 2009–10 season. After being admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, tests revealed he had been playing with an injured foot since taking a new shot in the foot during preparation camp. On October 21, 2009, Savard was placed on the long-serving wounded reserve. The Bruins signed Savard to a seven-year contract on December 1, worth $28.05 million (approximately $4.2 million per season) shortly after returning to the lineup. The deal is spread out, with approximately $14 million for the first two years and $14 million for the remaining five years.

Marc Savard sustained a right knee injury while competing with Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks on January 7, 2010. He was put on injured reserve with a minor MCL tear in his right knee after getting an MRI. No surgery was required.

After getting a shoulder to the head from Matt Cooke, Savard sustained a Grade 2 concusion in the third period of the Bruins' game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 7, 2010. Cooke was not punished for the injury, and on March 10, Colin Campbell announced that the NHL would not suspend or fine Cooke. The disaster and its aftermath were among the key reasons that prompted NHL to implement a new rule that more strictly punished blindside hits. Following the shooting, Savard was not admitted to a hospital, but he stayed at a Pittsburgh hotel for the night before returning to Boston the next day. After defeating the Buffalo Sabres, Savard recovered enough to be eligible to play in the 2010 playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers. In overtime, the Bruins' victory in Game 1 of the season, he scored the winning goal.

Savard was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome during the following off-season, missing the first 23 games of the 2010–11 season. Despite being back in action for the majority of his Bruins career, Savard's play was muted, with just 10 points in 25 games after scoring on a near-per-game basis for the majority of his career. Savard sustained a second concussion after being struck by former Bruin Matt Hunwick in a game against the Colorado Avalanche on January 23, 2011. After suffering his second concussion in ten months, the Bruins opted to keep Savard down for the season on February 8, 2011. The Bruins continued to win the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Savard was unable to travel to Vancouver to participate in the on-ice victory celebration with his teammates due to persistent symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, but he was able to join them in Boston for the official victory parade.

Despite not having played enough games for his name to be in the Stanley Cup engraving, the Bruins wanted to include Savard's name on the trophy. Savard spent his personal day with the Stanley Cup in Peterborough, Ontario, on August 1, 2011; at the time, he complained of the effects of his injury. Savard's general manager Peter Chiarelli informed the Bruins on August 31, 2011 that he had been suspended for the 2011–12 season. "Based on what I see, what I hear, what I read, and what I hear, it's very unlikely that Marc will return." Chiarelli was quoted as saying, "Based on what I see, what I hear, what I read, and what I'm told, it's very unlikely" that Marc will play again." Chiarelli revealed on September 12, 2011, that Savard's name would be included on the Stanley Cup because he had only missed games due to injury.

Savard's work with the Bruins began on July 1, 2015, and the Florida Panthers were included in a trade for Jimmy Hayes due to salary cap reasons.

In exchange for Paul Thompson and Graham Black, Savard's deal was traded to the New Jersey Devils, as well as a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Savard announced his retirement on January 22, 2018, seven years after he appeared in his last NHL game.

Golf career

Savard qualified for the 2007 Royal Canadian Golf Association's Canadian Men's Mid-Amateur Golf Championship in the offseason.

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Awards

• Won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy (OHL top scorer) in 1995 and 1997.
• Won the CHL Top Scorer Award in 1995.
• Named the NHL Offensive Player of the Week for October 5–8, 2005.
• Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy winner in 2007 and 2009.
• Bruins Three Stars Awards — 2007, 2008 and 2009.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2008 and 2009.
• Won the Stanley Cup in 2011.