One thing you learn leading up to the trade deadline every year is not only who could be moved, but who teams view as untouchables, and plan to build around.
In Elliotte Friedman's latest edition of 30 thoughts, he was talking about defensemen the Blue Jackets wouldn't part with, and one of the names included was somewhat surprising.
Via Friedman: "15. Columbus has a mix of defencemen with and without term. The Blue Jackets aren’t interested in a complete remodelling, but are willing to listen to ideas — as long as they don’t involve Ryan Murray or David Savard. Cody Goloubef is an inexpensive right-shot option."
Obviously the surprise is not Ryan Murray. He was selected 2nd overall and has never really taken off due to injury problems, but he has shown flashes when healthy, and is just 21 so it doesn't make sense to give up on him.
As for Savard, he's still young at 24, and has some offensive pop in his game - he has eight goals and 21 points in 55 games this season - but he's not a guy I'd view as untouchable.
He has struggled mightily this season when paired with Jack Johnson on the top unit, and I don't think he's nearly ready for that kind of responsibility. Maybe one day he will be, but he strikes me as a guy who could probably fetch more than he's worth.
I mean, teams would likely be lining up for a 6'2', 220lb defenseman who will score 10+ goals at 24; at least the one's that don't look at his underlying numbers (via OwnThePuck.Blogspot.ca).
As you can see, those numbers (spanning from 2012-present day) are pretty ugly. He has struggled in possession at even-strength, and he hasn't been able to produce points at evens, either.
That chart paints Savard as a 3rd pairing-to-replacement level defensemen, so I think it's worth noting the numbers are probably skewed significantly from him a) spending a lot of his time this season playing with a possession anchor in Johnson; b) playing top competition and; c) well, not being ready for the responsibilities thrown at him.
He's not a top pairing defenseman, but he's undoubtedly an NHL defenseman, and still has time to get better.
Again, he'd probably generate quite a bit of interest on the trade market, which is why I thought it made sense for a progressive thinker like Jarmo Kekalainen to at least listen to what teams are offering.
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