Early career (1993–1999) Savard played
major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the
Oshawa Generals, beginning in
1993–94. After his second season with the Generals, in which he scored a league-leading 139 points, he was selected 91st overall in the
1995 NHL entry draft by the
New York Rangers. He continued to play in the OHL for two more seasons and earned his second
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the OHL's leading scorer with 130 points in
1996–97. Savard then added 27 points in 15 playoff games, guiding the Generals to the 1997
J. Ross Robertson Cup and an appearance in the
1997 Memorial Cup. In
1997–98, Savard was assigned by the Rangers to their
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Hartford Wolfpack. He scored 74 points with Hartford while being called up to play in 28 games for the Rangers in his rookie professional campaign. The following season, he earned an expanded role with the Rangers and scored 45 points in 70 games.
Calgary Flames (1999–2002) On June 26, 1999, shortly after the completion of Savard's first full season with the Rangers, he was traded to the
Calgary Flames, along with the Rangers' first-round choice in
1999 (
Oleg Saprykin), in exchange for the playing rights to
Jan Hlaváč, Calgary's first-round pick (
Jamie Lundmark) and third-round pick (later traded back to Calgary; Calgary selected
Craig Anderson) in the 1999 Draft. Savard continued to improve with the Flames and in
2000–01, he finished second in team scoring to
Jarome Iginla with 65 points.
Atlanta Thrashers (2002–2006) Shortly after beginning his fourth season with the Flames, Savard was acquired by the
Atlanta Thrashers from Calgary in exchange for
Ruslan Zainullin on November 15, 2002. Playing with superstar
wingers Dany Heatley and
Ilya Kovalchuk, Savard became a point-per-game player and recorded 52 points in 45 games during an injury shortened
2003–04 season. Due to the
2004–05 NHL lockout, Savard played in the Swiss leagues with
HC Thurgau of
Nationalliga B and briefly with
SC Bern of
Nationalliga A. When NHL play resumed the following season, he emerged as a top talent in the NHL with a career-high 97 points, good for ninth overall in the league.
Boston Bruins (2006–2011) At the end of his breakthrough season, Savard became an
unrestricted free agent and signed with the
Boston Bruins to a four-year, $20 million contract on July 1, 2006. He picked up where he left off in Atlanta and led the Bruins in scoring in his first season with the team, tallying 96 points. His 74 assists were good for third in the league for the second consecutive season, behind
Joe Thornton (92) and
Sidney Crosby (84). In his second season with the Bruins, Savard was named to his first
NHL All-Star Game in
2008, replacing an injured Dany Heatley. He scored the game-winning goal with 21 seconds remaining in the third period. Although Savard's offensive production was cut down to 78 points because of injury in the
2007–08 season, he made his
playoff debut after 11 seasons in the NHL. As the eighth-seeded Bruins faced the top-seeded
Montreal Canadiens in the opening round, Savard scored his first NHL playoff goal in the first
overtime of Game 3. He scored six points in the series, but the Bruins were eliminated by the Canadiens in seven games. Savard was named as a reserve to his second All-Star Game in
Montreal the following season, in
2008–09, and helped lead the Bruins to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Savard led the Bruins in scoring with 88 points in 82 games before adding 13 points in 11 playoff games. Playing the Canadiens in the first round for the second consecutive year, Savard and the Bruins swept the series in four games. He advanced to the second round for the first time in his career, where the Bruins were eliminated in seven games by the
Carolina Hurricanes. Seven games into the
2009–10 season, Savard sustained a broken foot while inadvertently blocking a shot. After he was taken to
Massachusetts General Hospital, tests revealed he had been playing with an injured foot since taking a previous shot in the foot during training camp. Savard was placed on the long-term injured reserve on October 21, 2009. Shortly after returning to the line-up, the Bruins signed Savard to a seven-year extension on December 1, worth $28.05 million (approximately $4.2 million per season). The contract is spread out, with approximately $14 million the first two years and $14 million for the remaining five. On January 7, 2010, only 28 seconds into his first shift on the ice, Marc Savard suffered a right knee injury after colliding with
Jonathan Toews from the
Chicago Blackhawks. After getting an MRI, he was placed on
injured reserve with a minor MCL tear in his right knee. No surgery was required. On March 7, Savard suffered a Grade 2
concussion in the third period of the Bruins' game against the
Pittsburgh Penguins after getting a shoulder to the head from
Matt Cooke. The on-ice officials did not penalize Cooke for the hit, and on March 10,
Colin Campbell declared that the NHL would not suspend or fine Cooke. The hit and its aftermath were part of the key evidence that caused NHL to institute a new rule that more heavily penalized blindside hits. Savard was not taken to a hospital following the incident but stayed behind at a Pittsburgh hotel for the night before returning to Boston the following day. Savard recovered enough to be cleared to play for the 2010 playoff series against the
Philadelphia Flyers after their victory against the
Buffalo Sabres. He scored the winning goal in overtime in the Bruins' win in Game 1 of the series. The Bruins would go on to eventually lose the series in seven games, after initially taking a 3–0 series lead. Savard was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome during the subsequent off-season, missing the first 23 games of the
2010–11 season. Despite eventually returning, Savard's performance was quite muted, with just 10 points in 25 games after scoring at a near point-per-game basis for most of his career with the Bruins. On January 23, 2011, Savard suffered a second concussion on a hit by former Bruin
Matt Hunwick in a game against the
Colorado Avalanche. On February 8, the Bruins opted to shut Savard down for the season after he received his second concussion in ten months. The Bruins went on to win the
Stanley Cup, defeating the
Presidents' Trophy-winning
Vancouver Canucks in the
2011 Stanley Cup Finals in seven games. Due to recurring symptoms of
post-concussion syndrome, Savard was not able to travel to
Vancouver to take part in the on-ice victory celebration after Game 7 with his teammates, but he was able to join them back in Boston for the official victory parade. Despite not playing the required number of games for his name to be automatically included in the Stanley Cup engraving, the Bruins petitioned the league to include Savard's name on the Cup. Savard enjoyed his personal day with the Stanley Cup on August 1, in his hometown of
Peterborough, Ontario; at that time, he announced he was still suffering the effects of his injury. On August 31, 2011, it was announced Savard had been shut down for the
2011–12 season by Bruins general manager
Peter Chiarelli. Chiarelli was quoted as saying, "Based on what I see, what I hear, what I read, and what I'm told, it's very unlikely Marc will play again." On September 12, 2011, Chiarelli announced Savard's name would be included on the Stanley Cup as he had missed games only due to injury.
Post-playing career On July 1, 2015, Savard's contract with the Bruins was included in a trade of
Reilly Smith to the
Florida Panthers in exchange for
Jimmy Hayes due to salary cap circumstances. On June 10, 2016, Savard's contract was traded to the
New Jersey Devils, along with a second-round pick in the
2018 NHL entry draft, in exchange for
Paul Thompson and Graham Black. Savard formally announced his retirement on January 22, 2018, seven years after he played his last NHL game. ==Coaching career==