Canadiens Defenseman David Savard Out Eight Weeks

The injury hits just keep on coming for the Montreal Canadiens. Canadiens defenseman David Savard will be out eight weeks with a right ankle injury the team announced following their 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night.

Saturday was the first game Savard has missed this season and now, unfortunately, he will miss quite a bit more. Savard was actually really finding his place on the team both on and off the ice as Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme pointed out prior to the game Saturday.

“Like any players getting to a new team, he had an adjustment to do and it took him a little bit of time which is normal,” Ducharme said after his team’s game-day skate on Saturday. “We’ve seen that with [Ben] Chiarot when he came in; we’ve seen that with [Joel] Edmundson when he joined the team. I think Dave is being pretty steady right now. He’s playing a lot and he’s showing within the room and the team, some good leadership also. So, he’s a veteran guy that went through a lot of things and it’s important for us to have those kinds of guys right now.”

The 6-foot-1, 234-pound, 31-year-old Saint-Hyacinthe, QC native signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens after winning a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning when they beat the Habs in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Through 42 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Savard has a goal and eight assists. He’s a minus 17 but obviously, that’s more a byproduct of being on a team that’s allowed 166 goals and is a -70 as a whole.

Knowing Savard was going to be out last night, Ducharme was thinking about dressing seven defensemen and 11 forwards on Saturday night but he went with the normal 7-12 setup. Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kale Clague slotted in next to Chris Wideman on the third d-pairing and had a rough game finishing with a minus 2 rating.