Bruins prepare for Marc Savard’s return

It appears as if Marc Savard’s return to the Boston Bruins’ lineup is imminent and could happen as early as later this week when the Bruins take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday or the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. At this point, however, Savard’s return seems to hinder more on the Bruins’ ability to free up cap space than Savard’s health.

With the Bruins right up against the salary cap, the team needs to move several millions of dollars in order to fit Savard and his $4 million cap hit under the salary cap. The Bruins made the first step to free up cap space today by sending defenseman Matt Hunwick to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for prospect Colby Cohen. By moving Hunwick, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, the Bruins free up $1.45 million in much-needed salary cap space. Cohen will immediately be sent to Boston’s AHL affiliate.

More moves could be on the horizon for Boston as they still need to move roughly $3 million in salary before Savard can return to the lineup from long-term injured reserve. One likely candidate on the move is winger Michael Ryder. Rumors have swirled for some time that Boston GM Peter Chiarelli wants to move Ryder before the end of the season when he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Ryder’s $4 million cap hit would give Boston just enough room to reactive Savard. Blake Wheeler and Daniel Paille are also reportedly being shopped by Chiarelli with Phoenix and Toronto possibly interested in making deals. Chiarelly has also indicated that he has no problem stashing away talent in the minor leagues if the team is desperate for cap space.

Savard, who has been out of the lineup all season after developing post-concussion symptoms stemming from a blind-side hit by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke last March, has been skating for weeks and was just last week cleared to participate in full-contact drills in practice with no ill-effects. According to both Savard and the Bruins, the timetable for Savard’s return is “December” with no real date set. However, Savard appears to be progressing quickly and could return as soon as the Bruins make the necessary moves.

Boston winger Marco Sturm is also progressing steadily and working toward a comeback sometime in the next few weeks leading to more speculation that the Bruins are looking to clear salary to accommodate Sturm’s return in the future as well as Savard’s imminent return.