Trade between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens: A return to Florida for David Savard?

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David St-Jean
February 11, 2024 (10:38)

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Just before joining the Canadiens, David Savard won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a fantastic experience for him, and he played a crucial role in his team's success.

Nearly three years later, the defenseman could be heading back to the warm sunshine of Florida, as the Lightning is facing some serious challenges.

Indeed, both Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak are injured, which might force Julien BriseBois to make a personnel move.

"The #GoBolts have been exploring the D market again lately, speaking with several teams in both conferences about their available defencemen. In a perfect world, they'd like to add a D before the deadline."

- David Pagnotta

The issue is that Kent Hughes does not seem inclined to trade Savard. He is currently part of the core, and he has one year left on his contract. It will take an offer that's impossible to refuse to change his mind.

According to Marc-Olivier Beaudoin, that might be possible because Brisebois is not afraid to pay the price.

"The Lightning will try to add a defenseman at the trade deadline, and we know that Julien BriseBois values David Savard, considering they won the Stanley Cup together. We also know that the TB GM is not afraid to pay a high price for this type of acquisition!"

It will be interesting to follow this situation. What is certain is that Tampa Bay is desperately looking to find a defenseman, and a trade is almost guaranteed in their case.