The Montreal Canadiens lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup finals, so they stole one of the players that put the Bolts over the top.
The Habs have signed defenseman David Savard to a four-year deal with an annual average value of $3.5 million.
Savard was another building block to the Lightning winning their second-straight title. Tampa acquired the 30-year-old from the Blue Jackets in a three-team trade in April of last year. He didn’t register a point in 14 regular-season games but had five assists in the playoffs.
Savard is coming off a five-year deal he signed with Columbus with a cap hit of $4.25 million.
Savard is not flashy, but he is the kind of stay-at-home defenseman that can form the basis of a shutdown pair.