Savard acquired by Lightning in trade with Blue Jackets, Red Wings

David Savard was acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in trades involving the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings.

Columbus traded the defenseman and received a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Detroit received a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Tampa Bay also received defenseman Brian Lashoff.
"It's definitely weird the way it worked out. The last couple years playing them in the playoffs, and obviously I've played a few games this year against them," Savard said. "Like I said, I'm just so excited to join that team that has such a good group of guys. They're so talented, and the way they compete every night, you know it's always going to be a battle when you play them. I'm excited to be on the other side. I think they have a team to go for another run and to go for the Stanley Cup. That's all you dream of, to be a player and have that chance to win."
Savard, a 30-year-old who is in the final season of a five-year contract and could become an unrestricted free agent, has scored six points (one goal, five assists) in 40 games.
"As we were leading up to the deadline, we'd identified the area that we could most improve our team as being by the acquisition of a top-four right shot defenseman. And very quickly we targeted David Savard as being the best fit for that role," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. "We had the chance to see David play against our team during the last two playoff runs, get to see how hard he is to play against, to see how tough he is and heavy he plays and how reliable he is defensively, and we knew that he is the type of player that you want on your team for a long playoff run. … The reality is I didn't necessarily expect us to be able to pull this (trade) off, truth be told. I'm certainly glad that we've been able to do it and add David to our group."
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Selected by Columbus in the fourth round (No. 94) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Savard scored 166 points (41 goals, 125 assists) in 597 regular-season games and 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 37 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"He's been a huge part of our organization," coach John Tortorella told the Blue Jackets website. "He's been a huge part. This is my sixth year, just growing with him and him stabilizing the back end. A very important guy in the locker room as far as what we tried to create here. He's a hockey player. That's what's great about 'Savy'. He's a hockey player, loves being at the rink, keeps everybody loose and obviously what he does on the ice, he just plays hard. He's fearless."
Lashoff has scored three points (one goal, two assists) in 13 games with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League this season. In 136 NHL games with Detroit, the 30-year-old has scored 15 points (two goals, 13 assists).
It was the second of three trades the Blue Jackets made ahead of the deadline after sending forward Riley Nash to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft. On Sunday, the Blue Jackets traded captain Nick Foligno, a pending unrestricted free agent. Columbus acquried a first-round pick in the 2021 draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft from the Maple Leafs in a three-team deal that included the San Jose Sharks.
"Yeah, versatile guy," Tortorella said of Nash. "I could move him up and down the lineup. He can play center. He can play wing, kills penalties, takes face-offs. He was a pretty important guy for us and doesn't really put up big numbers, but he stabilized a lot of things as you go through a game. So we wish him the best, and great opportunity for him to play some playoff hockey."
Tampa Bay (28-11-2) is tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the eight-team Discover Central Division. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.
Columbus (15-20-8) is seventh in the Central, nine points behind the fourth-place Nashville Predators, and Detroit (14-23-6) is eighth.
Tampa Bay eliminated Columbus in five games in the Eastern Conference First Round last season, when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup. The Blue Jackets swept them in the first round the season before.
The Lightning acquired defenseman Fredrik Claesson in a trade from the San Jose Sharks on Monday. San Jose received goalie prospect Magnus Chrona in the trade.
Claesson, who can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, did not have a point in four games this season and has scored 28 points (seven goals, 21 assists) in 159 regular-season games for the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Sharks. The 28-year-old has three assists in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games.