David Savard is not used to individual honors, at least not among professionals. On his Elite Prospects site, his last individual distinctions date back to 2009-2010, when he was named defenseman of the year in Canadian junior hockey and in the QMJHL.
If you dig a little deeper, you also find that he was named Blue Jackets Defenseman of the Year in 2014-15.
And ironically, the individual honor he won on Thursday, the Jacques-Beauchamp trophy, rightly rewards the player “having had a decisive role within the team during the season, without however deriving any particular honor from it” at the Canadian.
That sums up Savard well, a player who stands out on the ice by blocking shots, by facing the best opposing elements, and off the ice by acting as a player unanimously appreciated by his teammates. It was true in Columbus. It was true in Tampa, where he was the third player to receive the Stanley Cup on the ice in 2021. And it still is here in Montreal.
“It’s an honor to receive this. It shows how much I try to give everything for the team. That’s flattering. Stars don’t matter much to me. The important thing for me is the success of the team and I always try to put the team in front of me, “said Savard, met an hour before the duel between the Habs and the Bruins, Thursday, at the Center Bell.
Prior to the start of the season, Joel Edmundson was seen as the leader of this group of defensemen. When Nick Suzuki was named captain, Edmundson was chosen as an alternate, along with Brendan Gallagher. And prior to Suzuki’s appointment, Edmundson’s name came up often among those who preferred a more experienced player than Suzuki to carry the “C”.
Except Edmundson missed camp and the first month on the calendar. And Savard, in his second year with the team, has visibly asserted himself more. It started on the ice, in the first game, when his nine blocked shots carried the Canadiens in a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“He’s so good at it, it seems like the puck is drawn to him. When you see older guys like him and Eddy [Edmundson] doing it, you wonder: what excuse will those who don’t do it have if veterans do it? “, told us the defender Jordan Harris, at the start of the season.
Savard continued in the same vein and finds himself 3rd in the National League in blocked shots per 60 minutes (7.60).
He was also paired from training camp with Kaiden Guhle, CH’s best hope on the blue line. This form of mentoring has made it possible to bring out his influence over young people, defenders or not. This ascendancy took different forms, perhaps the craziest being his pre-match ritual with Samuel Montembeault, which led to the goalkeeper’s nickname being discovered.
“You see the impact he has and it’s not just one player,” Martin St-Louis said. You see that it is unanimous, speaking to the players. We know what he brings, not just on the ice. It’s fun to have him recognized. »
Savard has obviously found his place within this rather young group. Not that the age gap is so huge, since at 32, he is only seven years apart from Johnathan Kovacevic, for example. But as a family man and 735-game NHL veteran, his background stands out in this locker room.
But he doesn’t see it that way. In his eyes, the “biggest difference” between him and the youngest at the club, “is the time you wake up in the morning. I try to stay young. I don’t see such a big difference. I still feel good.
“I want to have fun, keep trying to win and get back to the top honors. My goal is to grow the team and be here when we go back to the playoffs and try to win a Stanley Cup. »