Edmonton Oilers Connected to Montreal Canadiens Defenceman in Trade

NHL insider David Pagnotta revealed that the Canadiens could be willing to trade Savard later in the season, and named the Edmonton Oilers are the top suitors for him.

The 34 year old Quebecois defenceman plays a very strong physical game at 6'1 and 235 pounds. He's a right shot defenceman and a stay-at-home defenceman first, which best fits the Oilers need for a shutdown player next to Darnell Nurse on the second pairing. Savard is in the final year of his contract paying just $3.5M.

Savard is a quality option positionally and as an NHL veteran, but he is a fairly one dimensional player. Savard excels in stopping cycle play in the zone and clearing the net, which are positive assets in the playoffs, but he can struggle making a quality first pass. On a team like Edmonton where a quality first pass can be lethal, they should be targeting that ability in their trade candidates. At his age too, the physical play is on the decline.

Pagnotta suggested that the price to acquire Savard may be less than a first round draft pick, which would be a very manageable price for the Oilers. The only problem will be whether the Habs are willing to deal Savard as one of the few Quebecois players on the roster - something that's very important to Montreal.

If the Oilers believe that Savard is the best option for them and Montreal is willing to make a deal, it would be a very manageable deal to make that would immediately improve the blue line. There just may be better options available than him.

The Oilers need to hit a home run with their defenceman trade this season to make their second pairing playable in the playoffs, or they may have trouble repeating their playoff run from last year.