Arpon Basu on Savard: “He may have played his last home game last night”.

Unless the price is really excellent, Kent Hughes won’t trade David Savard.

The defenseman wants to stay in Montreal because he likes it here, and the organization likes him a lot because Savard is a great help to the club.

That said, other teams are really keeping an eye on him at the moment.

At least, that’s what Arpon Basu revealed in a recent column on BPM Sports.

The journalist from The Athletic explains that everything will depend on the next few days and what happens with Chris Tanev in Calgary…

And Basu maintains that there’s a world out there where Savard played his last game (of the season) in a Habs uniform last night :

I know there are a lot of teams watching him right now. But it’s possible that he played his last game at home last night. – Arpon Basu

Greg Wyshynski, asenior NHL writer at ESPN, also argues that Savard could quickly become Plan B for teams in the race for Chris Tanev’s services :

Greg Wyshynski on the Habs potentially trading David Savard at the deadline.

https://t.co/63ynbmHYKF pic.twitter.com/OpgYf7fMgo

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) February 28, 2024

It really seems like the closer the deadline gets, the more interest in Savard grows in all corners of the National Hockey League.

Kent Hughes could really have an agonizing choice to make… Because if Savard becomes the clubs’ #1 option after Tanev is traded, the offers that will be placed on the Montreal GM’s table will be worth analyzing.

Joel Armia, a playoff player

It would be surprising to see him leave, but Joel Armia has also been the subject of rumours in recent weeks.

In particular, David Pagnotta said two weeks ago that he believes in a trade for the big forward…

And the subject was also discussed today on the Sean Campbell and Mitch Gallo show on TSN 690.

The verdict, according to TSN’s JP O’Connor, who was a guest on the show, is that Armia could be of interest to a team looking to make a playoff push, because he has the tools to help a club in the playoffs :

During the Habs’ playoff run in the summer of 2021, Joel Armia was a big part of the team’s success.

He put his ego aside and gave his all every night, something he’s been asked to do since he began his NHL career.

Because there’s no lack of talent in the Finn, we agree. The problem is his attitude and laziness on the ice.

All this to say that David Savard and Joel Armia are two popular names in the Montreal media today.

Of course, for a lot of people, it would be disappointing to see Savard leave… But it’s hard to say the same about Armia.

In brief

– He’s having quite a season.

– Ah well.

– They have options.