But he was never far from the thoughts of his teammates and Boston fans, and on Saturday he was back in town to take part in the Bruins' duck boat parade through the streets of the city.
The rolling rally caps what has been a bittersweet postseason for Savard, who enjoyed watching his teammates' run to the Cup, but was understandably frustrated to have been unable to be out there with them as he continues to deal with post-concussion symptoms.
"It was amazing," Savard said of the Bruins' playoff run. "I mean how the boys gelled and everybody came together. It was tough for me to watch at times obviously, but it was special, that's for sure."
Savard has been sidelined since suffering a concussion in Colorado in January, his second in less than a year after suffering a more severe concussion the previous March on a blindside cheap shot by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. Savard continues to battle the effects of those concussions, though he has been improving.
"I'm feeling better, but I still have my days," Savard said. "My memory is the biggest thing. My memory isn't very good. Mornings are tough, but besides that, I've been doing a lot better, that's for sure.
"Short-term memory stuff is terrible," Savard added. "And hopefully that gets better."
Savard came to the Garden several times to attend games during the playoffs, but the length of the flight to Vancouver prevented him from being able to go to Game 7.
"Yeah, I just, it was a long flight and stuff like that, so I just stayed at home," Savard said. "It was a weird feeling. I was kind of around for a couple of games at home. I didn't really want to just stick my nose in it. I know the boys earned it, so I didn't want to take any of the spotlight or anything away from anybody that worked so hard."
Savard also didn't want to take any focus away from the cup celebration with speculation about his playing future.
"Well it's really the furthest thing from my mind right now to be honest with you," Savard said. "I just want to enjoy it here and let the boys take the spotlight here because they earned it."
While Savard admitted being just a spectator for the club's Cup run was difficult, he's been buoyed by the support he's received from his teammates and fans.
"That was nice," Savard said. "I mean they've always been great guys, we've always had a great room. Even when I came in for a lot of games at home, you know the fans were great. I could see all the signs they had and that really lifts the team and helps my spirits too."
Savard's spirits were raised even further with the knowledge that the team will petition the league to have his name engraved on the Cup, even though he did not meet the standard requirement of playing at least 41 regular-season games or one game in the Cup Final due to his injury.
"Well that's special," Savard said. "Like I said, [general manager] Peter [Chiarelli] has been fantastic with me ever since I came here in Day 1. And he was one of the reasons I did come. So I mean, words can't explain it right now. It's been a long road, that's for sure."
