Not only will the B’s have to make some room financially for Savvy, they’re going to have to find a spot for him somewhere in the lineup, perhaps even moving fellow centers David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron from their posts as the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 centermen, respectively.
Bergeron has 13 points and a plus-6 rating in 22 games while Krejci has 12 points and plus-3 in 15 contests. Krejci, who has filled in as the top-line center this season, has missed significant time this month thanks to a concussion sustained in the B’s shootout loss the Blues on Nov. 6. The centerman started the year off red-hot when he and wingers Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton accounted for 26 points in the first eight games of the season.
Bergeron isn’t just the heart and soul of this club, he’s the go-to guy on the penalty kill unit and his overall play in each of the three zones is second to none.
Without Savard, the Bruins have suffered tremendously on the power play, as the Black and Gold have scored less than 16 percent of the time with the man-advantage. The playmaking center is a crucial cog in the B’s power play unit, as pointed out in the following bullets compiled by NESN.com Bruins reporter Douglas Flynn this preseason.
- With Savard in the lineup, the Bruins were a solid 21.7 percent (33-152) on the power play last season.
- Without him, they were a 9.7 percent (11-113).
- That 21.7 percent with Savard would have ranked third in the league over a full season, while the 9.7 percent wasn’t even within sniffing distance of Toronto’s league-worst 14.0 percent.
- Despite missing half the season, Savard still led the Bruins with 17 power-play points, a 34-point pace that would have outstripped even his team-high 30 power-play points in 2008-09.
Who do you think the most valuable center is on this Bruins team?
