Savard-less Bruins Will Look to Move On

As many of you may have heard yesterday, the Bruins and Marc Savard have announced their plans to shut down the injury-plagued forward for the season and any potential postseason run due to his second concussion in as many seasons. It is extremely worrisome for not only the Boston Bruins organization but Marc Savard as an individual being. Savard has expressed his concerns in regards to occasional memory lapses and moments of dizziness since Matt Hunwick's hit gave him a mild concussion a few weeks back.

As he enters his mid-thirties, it might be time to consider hanging them up for Savard. Bruins fans hate to hear the thought of it, but it might be the best choice for him. He has already said he isn't ready to retire, but he may start feeling some influence from his loved ones and his everyday experiences. The bottom line is that concussions can have far worse long-term effects than anyone may realize right away. Hanging them up and sacrificing his final few years in the league could potentially prolong his healthy, normal life by a much greater margin. As hard as it may be to give up his quest for a Stanley Cup on a team with such great potential, it's something he will have to consider.

Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins still have a job to do. It's disheartening to lose a guy like Savard and it is impossible to feel anything other than sympathy for the man. But there is still a task at hand, and the black and gold remain the Northeast Division leaders. How will Boston move forward and fill the void left by their former all-star centerman? Back when Savard's injury took place, general manager Peter Chiarelli said that he would target an impact forward in the trade market if Savard were deemed out for the season. Whether he will act on that notion or not, nobody can know for sure. But is it ultimately a necessity if the Bruins want to compete for the Cup this season?

The optimists of the world -- like myself -- would claim that Boston has the necessary depth. I would love to see Tyler Seguin play the rest of the season as the third line center -- no questions asked. But Claude Julien seems very resistant to throwing Seguin into the center slot, slating Blake Wheeler into that position with Seguin playing his wing instead. And when Daniel Paille went down, Seguin bumped down to fourth line wing and saw Zach Hamill slide up into his place in just his first game of the year. I don't understand why, but Julien is pulling the reigns quite forcefully on Seguin this season. I guess we can only hope it's for the best.

But going back to the trade possibility, the Bruins have been benching Mark Stuart for the last several games. Stuart is still a very solid defenseman in this league, and he would like garner significant trade interest. Whether he will be enough to get a top forward, no one can be sure -- but the Bruins do have several draft picks stocked up if they wish to make an attempt. Rumors have been thrown around about making a move for Devils forward Zach Parise, but the pieces don't seem to add up for a trade like that to go down. Needless to say, though, I wouldn't be complaining if it did.

Either way, the Bruins' depth will need to hold steady over the next stretch of games up until the point that a decision is made on the composition of the team. It's possible that the Bruins will be content relying on their depth that they take such pride in. Still, fans will be anxiously waiting to see the course of action the front office takes.