David Savard: The unsung hero

MONTREAL - It would be easy to only focus on the negatives when looking at the Canadiens' 2022-23 campaign, but a birds-eye view of the season isn't accurate nor fair.

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Sure, Martin St-Louis' squad suffered losses on the ice and in the locker room. There were games the team wanted back and players they wished were in the lineup for a full 82-game schedule.
But that's just one side of the story.
Because in reality, the Canadiens this year checked off many of the boxes that their preseason plan offered: to develop their young talent, continue advancing the retooling process and find their identity as a hockey team.
Mission accomplished.
The youth movement was alive and well in Montreal, and there was an encouraging sense of team culture that was reinforced with each passing practice and game.
"They've bought in; from the drop of the puck, they're all in," said goaltender Jake Allen about the young players on the team following the Canadiens' 3-1 win over the Sharks in San Jose on February 28. "It's not always perfect, it's not always pretty but they get right back on the horse after a mistake and keep their head high and play hard again. There's no frustration, sulking, or pouting. There's a lot of maturity within the youth we have here, I think."

The leadership group from the players to the coaching staff did a tremendous job creating an environment where everyone could contribute, regardless of experience, in "The Show." St-Louis rightfully got a lot of credit for this, and so did guys like captain Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher.
There were also underrated vets like David Savard who played a significant role in all this, too.
"You've got to give a guy like Savvy a lot of credit this year," Allen continued. "He holds this group together, he really does. He eats crazy-hard minutes, he doesn't get accolades, he doesn't get rewards, but he keeps this group together. He keeps them light, he keeps them loose, and I think without him this year, it could be a different story. I think he's a huge piece to this puzzle."
The veteran blue-liner, whose season was cut short at the end of March after sustaining a knee injury, led the Habs in blocked shots with 176 in 62 games and ranked eighth in the NHL in that category among all skaters at the end of the regular season. Moreover, only fellow defenseman Mike Matheson spent more time on ice per game, on average, than Savard.
"He does a great job of defusing sticky situations, whether it's his stick play, his physical play, or worst-case scenario having to block a shot," said Jack Johnson, defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche and Savard's former teammate with the Columbus Blue Jackets. "You name it, he can get it done, and he does it very effectively and very well. Some of those things, like stick placement and body positioning, aren't things that the average fan would necessarily come out of their seat for, but teammates and coaches alike, we all appreciate those things."

That level of appreciation was echoed by Savard's current teammates and head coach all season long. According to St-Louis, the Saint-Hyacinthe native brings a lot of intangible qualities to the table.
"It's hard to describe," said St-Louis during a media op on February 28. "You know… Savvy's an unbelievable player. I know people might say that he doesn't have enough foot speed, but you have to be cautious about how you measure speed, because his brain works at a very, very high level. And Savvy understands where the game is going, always has great angles. He's aware of where his teammates are, but also where the other team is. He's been so valuable for the team, more importantly, for the young defensemen that we have. He's just an extension of the coaching staff and he's in the trenches with them. It's really great."
It's not surprising then that the Montreal media voted Savard as the 2022-23 recipient of the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy, awarded annually to the Hab who played a dominant role during the regular season, without earning any particular honor.
His contributions to the team since arriving with La Sainte-Flanelle are immeasurable; look no further than the veteran's unwavering support for his fellow rookie defensemen, namely Kaiden Guhle, as Exhibit A. When the 21-year-old scored on February 28 in his first game back since sustaining a lower-body injury at the end of December, Savard's reaction was like that of a proud father.
"I looked at him and he was screaming and had the biggest smile on his face," said Guhle during a postgame media op in San Jose on February 28. "It's nice when you have guys like that in your corner, just telling me to keep it simple. I gave him a couple of pretty brutal passes and he was the first to say it's alright. He's been great."

That's all part of being a good veteran, and Savard has been lucky enough to have learned from some established players early in his career such as Derick Brassard, despite being only three years older than his fellow Quebec-born counterpart. The 32-year-old also credited his former teammates Antoine Vermette and Fedor Tyutin, among others, with helping him adapt to life in the NHL.
"Wherever I played, it was always important to find a way to bring everyone together in the group, to have a tight group, and I think it starts there," said Savard. "I also had a lot of good veterans who did that when I arrived [in the League]. Sometimes, you hear stories about how certain veterans made life difficult for rookies. That was never really the case for me. I think I always had good veterans who brought me into the group, and I've been trying to do the same thing [for guys here] as I'm one of the older players. If you feel comfortable at the rink and away from it, it'll show on the ice, and I think that's what matters."
Savard was able to bring his decade's-worth of experience to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020-21. There, he was part of a group with an unshakeable faith in the guys in the locker room and the game plan at hand.
"I think everyone was pushing in the same direction, regardless of whether we played well or poorly," explained Savard. "The game plan never changed. The guys remained focused on what they needed to do. If we had a bad period, we would return to the locker room and, not to say that we would brush it off, but the guys would say it's not a big deal, these things happen, and we're going to keep working in the same direction. It was the same message from the coaches."
While the Habs are still in the early stages of working to become perennial Stanley Cup contenders, the similarities between the way Savard described the Lightning and the current edition of the Canadiens are undeniable. From veterans to rookies, the Habs showed character and grit in games where they clawed their way to victory despite being down by a goal or more, and in losses where the team's effort and determination were the main storyline, but unfortunately not the result.

It wasn't always pretty, but it didn't have to be.
These short-term gains will shape the foundation of the team's success for years to come.
It's easier to create a winning framework when you have players who know what it takes to build a winning culture, leaders who can pass on their wisdom to the next generation of players and embrace their role to perfection.
Players like David Savard.
"For me, it's always been the same thing: my goal is to win a Stanley Cup," he said. "I'm just trying to fit in the role the team needs, and I think that changes every year. I think that's the key to staying in the NHL; you have to fit in the team mold, in the role they give you to the best of your abilities. That's what I'm trying to do here. We know we're young, and it's really my turn to share the knowledge I've learned over the years. If we want to win the Stanley Cup, they will be the ones leading the way and I think you need these guys and [you need] to give them as much as possible. If you do that, everyone will benefit."