In nine games this season with the Boston Bruins after returning from the long-term injury reserve with post-concussion symptoms, Marc Savard has only managed to tally three points. Add in his minus-4 rating and it isn’t tough to see why Savard is owned in only 28 percent of Yahoo’s Fantasy Hockey leagues.
What you may not know about Savard, however, is that he is more than capable of producing at a point-per-game clip when he is healthy. And he is getting healthy. After being away from the game for several months, Savard returned to the Bruin’s lineup on Dec. 2 where he centered the third line. Savard has been there since as he works to get back up to speed and regain his timing. And now is the time to take advantage of his free agency status in 72 percent of the Yahoo leagues because things are set to turn around for Savard quite soon.
The Bruins currently sit 8th overall in the Eastern Conference and are just four points out of a playoff spot. The team is 5-3-2 over their last 10 games and have struggled to score goals at times, which has prompted coach Claude Julien to promote Savard to the top line where he will center Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic – the two leading goal scorers for the Boston Bruins. This promotion should significantly impact Savard’s point production and Fantasy value if he remains with this unit.
Savard is one of the best playmaking centers in the league when he is healthy. In four of his past five NHL seasons, Savard has recorded 60 or more assists and reached the 80-point plateau in three of those five seasons. Last season, despite only playing in 41 games, Savard still managed a decent 33 points, including 23 assists. But what’s really impressive is that half of his points came on the power play that season where he had six goals and 11 assists with a man advantage. Needless to say, with Savard still available in almost three-quarters of all Yahoo Fantasy Leagues, it would be a worthy investment for you to pick him up if you have room available at center and need a boost in assists and power play points.
