Facing Monday’s NHL trade deadline The Tampa Bay Lightning trade and acquire defenseman David Savard. They say good things come in threes. Clearly, it is true for the Lightning who were involved in a three team trade along with Columbus and the Detroit Red Wings. To get Savard, might be a challenge to understand. To know how the Lightning did it committing to only 25% of Savard’s contract, well it might be easier to learn how to speak Swahili. Ultimately, the trade cost the Lightning this season’s first round pick and next year’s (2022) 3rd round pick.
Per Pierre LeBrun, here is how the trade went down:
- Columbus (retaining 50% of Savard’s contract) trades Savard to Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Brian Lashoff.
- Detroit then trades Savard to Tampa for the Lightning’s 4th round pick in the 2021 NHL draft. Detroit retains 50% of the remaining Savard contract.
- Columbus trades Lashoff to Tampa for the Lightning’s 1st round pick in the 2021 NHL draft and a 3rd round pick in the 2022 NHL draft.
Lightning GM pulled off two great deals last season on the way to winning the Cup. He gave up two first round picks for Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman. This season, he got the defenseman on the top of many NHL team’s wish list. He got two teams to retain 75% of Savard’s remaining contract. Did he pull off more deals with this three team trade that could help the Lightning repeat as Stanley Cup Champions? Time will tell. In one of his last games with Columbus on March 30th, Savard scored his last Blue Jacket goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Time will tell if this was a good omen.
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