Canadiens Urged to Sign Former 1st-Round Pick Defenseman to Replace Savard

The Montreal Canadiens have a need on their blue line and are urged to sign a former first-round pick.

The Canadiens will be without David Savard, who announced his retirement from the NHL. Savard completed his four-year, $14 million deal and decided to retire at age 34. With Savard retiring, the Canadiens will look to replace him and will likely sign his replacement in free agency.

NHL analyst Arpon Basu of The Athletic urged the Canadiens to sign Dante Fabbro to replace Savard on the blue line.

Fabbro might not make it to July 1, because the reasons why Montreal might want him are the same reasons Columbus would want to keep him,” Basu wrote. “He’s young, shoots from the right side, should be relatively inexpensive and did some good things with the Blue Jackets. The Canadiens have a need on the right side of their blue line with the retirement of David Savard.”

Fabbro is coming off a one-year, $2.5 million dealand will be in line for a massive raise and a multi-year deal.

Fabbro was selected 17th overall in 2017 but struggled to find his footing in the NHL. However, with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, he put it all together and had a ton of success. The 26-year-old finished the year with 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points last season in 68 games.

Canadiens’ Savard Explains Decision to Retire

Savard announced before the playoffs began that he would retire at the end of the season.

The 34-year-old was a shutdown defenseman who played a physical game. During the season, Savard realized his body couldn’t keep up anymore, which is why he decided to retire.