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Savard Cleared for Full Contact; Who's the Odd Man Out in Boston?

November 24, 2010, 3:56 AM ET [ Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
With each nugget of good news for the healing Boston Bruins, comes the inevitable bad news brought forth by the inescapable NHL salary cap.

Making slow but steady strides in his efforts towards returning from post-concussion symptoms that have kept him off the ice since the conclusion of the Bruins’ season in May, 33-year-old Marc Savard got the word he’s been waiting for since the start of training camp.

Ironically traveling to Pittsburgh this week to see a concussion specialist and take yet another neuro-psych test to determine if he’s ready to take on the rigors of the NHL game once again, Savard got the good word on Tuesday that he in fact has passed and will now be cleared for participation in practice with no limitations on contact.

Savard, who’s joined the Bruins on the ice for practice in a non-contact basis for over a week now, had just three points in seven playoff games after returning from a grade-two concussion at the hands of Matt Cooke‘s hit suffered in the first week of March.

Receiving the OK from doctors, and now merely rejoining the team to get back into game-shape, the question doesn’t just become where #91 fits into the Boston line-up, but who has to be moved in order to do so?

While widely known throughout the season that the Bruins would have to eventually deal away some players to bring Savard (and the still-recovering Marco Sturm) back to the line-up, there’s yet to be a definitive odd man out in the Hub after 19 games, leaving me to ask you--Just who do you see as being the cap-crunching castaways in Boston?

For starters, it should be no mystery that Blake Wheeler has become the poster-boy of a cap-clearing trade target. With a 2.2-million dollar cap-hit on his current one-year deal, the 24-year-old forward has just four goals in 19 games this season, and has yet to take that next step in his progression at the NHL level. Seemingly a lock as one of Boston’s expendables up front, the fact that the Bruins front-office is high enough on the could-be power-forward to bring him back for a third season should say that moving Wheeler may be one of Boston’s last resorts.

So if Wheeler is staying put for now, who becomes target number two?

How about Hab-turned-Bruin Michael Ryder? Signed to a three-year deal by the B’s in July 2008, the 30-year-old sniper has seemingly put his disastrous 2009-10 season in the rearview mirror with a strong start to this season with six goals and six assists in 19 games this season.

Seeing time on the power-play, where he’s scored three of his six goals this season, parting with Ryder could prove to be a difficult task for the Bruins, especially considering Ryder’s fond relationship with bench-boss Claude Julien. However, working against Ryder, could be his four-million dollar cap-hit in relation to Savard‘s, which narrowly creeps over the four-million dollar marker--making it a near even switch for the Bruins if they can somehow unload Ryder.

Undoubtedly in more of a position to survive with the loss of a forward as opposed to a trade involving one of the members of the Bruins' bruising blue-line, the thought has certainly been entertained to date with the names of both Matt Hunwick and Mark Stuart coming up in the rumor mill as players to be potentially moved by the club. Despite having the affordable Adam McQuaid in the press-box with a friendly 575,000 dollar cap-hit, Hunwick (1.45 million dollars) and Stuart (1.65 million dollars) both bring various intangibles that Boston may be unable to afford losing from their depth-challenged point.

On the hook to move 1.4 million dollars off the cap to fit Savard into the line-up with Sturm still on the long-term injured-reserve, the Bruins' cap-situation, while not pretty, is not nearly as drastic as it's been built in the now.

By no means a desirable task for Boston in any manner, it's time for Peter Chiarelli to prove his worth while Savard’s return is still days, weeks, and potential over a month from becoming solidified.

But no matter how it's spun, or what terms the team tries to spin it into, the Bruins are now on the clock for the unfortunate decision of having to decide who to cut ties with to bring their three-time leading-scorer back into the fold.

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