At 34 years old, Marc Savard will finally fulfill that lifelong goal.
The news Monday that Savard will indeed have his name etched on the Stanley Cup is certainly positive. He was a star in the NHL for years, finishing in the top 10 in points in three years and serving as a major building block for the turnaround of the Bruins’ franchise. He’s undeniably as big a reason as any that the Bruins became a championship team, and his place on the Cup is well-deserved.
It’s good news, yes, but still, it exists amid more bad news.
“I’ve communicated with him. He’s not in a good spot still,” Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said, as noted by NESN.com’s Douglas Flynn. “He’s still having recurring headaches. He still has recurring post-concussion stuff. I don’t really have a progress report.
“I know I’ve said before that he’s not playing this year, and frankly I don’t think he’ll play again,” Chiarelli added. “That’s my opinion. That’s my layperson’s opinion.”
That opinion is a well-informed one. If you’ve seen Chiarelli speak over the years, you know that he’s cautious. He would never say anything unless he was confident about what he was saying, so when he offers the opinion that Savard’s career is likely over, it’s not a statement that should be taken lightly.
And that, really, is what every Savard story over the past few months has come back to. It was nice to see him cheering for his teammates at the TD Garden for a playoff game against Tampa Bay, and it was great to see him celebrate with the city of Boston at the team’s championship parade. But no matter how nice those moments were, it was hard to look at Savard and not feel a range of negative emotions.
The first, for many, is still anger. Matt Cooke is the one person who delivered the blow to Savard that would change his life forever. Savard, in his 11-plus NHL seasons to that point, had no doubt taken some hits, but nothing to that extent. It was a cheap shot that served as Exhibit A for the case against the NHL’s rules, and the league has gone to great lengths to try to make sure it won’t happen again.
The league changing its rules and cutting down on dangerous hits is the right move, but it won’t go back in time and help Savard.
Another feeling is likely disappointment. Savard was no longer his young self, but he had plenty of hockey left in him. He averaged just under a point per game before Cooke ended his 2009-10 season, and he was still the best power-play pivot the Bruins had on their roster. He signed a contract that would keep him in a Bruins sweater until the end of his career, and he would have undoubtedly created some memorable moments on the ice in that time. Those moments won’t happen, and the hockey world is worse off for it.
Beyond it all is an overall sense of sympathy for Savard the person, not the hockey player. He’s still suffering from recurring headaches, and he hasn’t been on the ice since January. He has kids and he’s a very young man, and the idea that he’s still so badly affected from hits to the head in March 2010 and January 2011 is disturbing.
Add it all up, and all that hooting and hollering some of us did back in 2010 to try argue that Cooke should be suspended or banned sure seems irrelevant now. What could have been a proper punishment? A five-game ban? A 10-game suspension? Ending his season in March? Banning him from the league?
The problem is that no punishment could ever fit the crime.
“I’m still suffering with a lot of daily issues,” he told TSN last month. “I’m just trying to get through and not worry about hockey right now, just worry about my health because I have three young kids and they’re important to me.
“Mornings have been tough. When I get up in the morning I’m a little foggy sometimes. … I try to stay in the shade and stuff like that and pop the odd Advil and it seems to be OK.”
It obviously continues to be an uphill battle, but for now, Savard will learn what it feels like to see his own name etched on the Cup. He will be in exclusive company that few can claim to be a part of, and after all he’s been through, it’s something he most certainly deserves.
