Savard, 30, skated in 54 games in 2020-21 with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning. The right-handed defenseman registered six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in addition to serving 24 penalty minutes. Savard also suited up in 20 postseason contests with Tampa Bay, collecting five assists and hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career.
In 10 NHL seasons, all spent with the Blue Jackets before getting traded to Tampa last season, the 6'2'' and 233 lbs blueliner collected 166 points (41 goals, 125 assists) and served 331 penalty minutes in 611 regular season games. Savard also appeared in 54 career playoff games, amassing one goal and five assists.
Before joining the professional ranks, Savard played three seasons with the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL (from 2007-08 to 2009-10). He concluded his junior career with solid numbers, registering 23 goals and 110 assists in 199 regular season games. Savard also served 109 penalty minutes and posted an outstanding plus-40 differential. His junior days began with a short stint with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar before being traded to Moncton. He produced 25 points in the QMJHL playoffs, including six goals, in 31 games. He was named the best defenseman in the QMJHL, winning the prestigious Émile-Bouchard Trophy, in addition to being recognized with the same honor at the national level in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) at the end of the 2009-10 campaign.
Savard was selected in the fourth round (94th overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2009 NHL Draft. On the international stage, he was a part of the Canadian gold medal-winning squad at the IIHF World Championship in 2015. He is also a former player in the Séminaire St-François Blizzard program of the Quebec midget AAA league (2006-07).
