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Lightning Acquire David Savard from Columbus |
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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced this afternoon that they have acquired defenceman David Savard from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The cost is essentially a 2021 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, and 2021 fourth-round pick, complicated by the fact that this is a three-team trade.
For a second straight deadline, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois has gone out and made a targeted acquisition to address an area of need. Anyone who has watched more than a handful of Lightning games this year knows that the right-side defence has been a glaring weakness, with opposing teams often taking advantage. Even if he has struggled a little bit this season, Savard is a player who directly fills that void:
The pending unrestricted free agent, 30, is in the final year of a deal that pays him $4.25M per season. To facilitate the cap implications for Tampa, Columbus is reportedly retaining 50% of the remaining cap hit on the deal; then, the Red Wings are reportedly retaining an additional 50% of Savard's remaining cap hit prior to him ending up in Tampa.
This deal is a clear win for BriseBois and the Lightning. Tampa Bay is in win-now mode, which greatly reduces the value of picks in hand. Using picks to acquire on-roster resources that will help this team make another run at the Stanley Cup is exactly what this group should be doing. There will be a rebuild coming down the line, but that day is not today.
As always, thanks for reading.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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