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Marc Savard Won’t Play Again, Raises Questions in the League

Winning a Stanley Cup is one of those things that every kid who has ever taken to the ice with stick in hand has dreamed about. The thrill of victory, the rush of raising that great Cup over your head, the cheering of the fans and of course, having your name etched onto that piece of history for all to see for all time. But what is your team makes it to that final game, and actually wins the cup — and you neither get to raise it over your head or have your name put on it? It may seem an impossible situation but for Marc Savard, it’s all too much of a reality.

Savard has had just about some of the worst luck any hockey player in the NHL has ever faced. Being one of the league’s greats in 2010 when he was playing for the Boston Bruins, he was taken out by a dirty shot from Flyers‘ player, Matt Cooke. That led to a dismal downfall, with that injury leaving him out until December, when he returned on somewhat shaky ground. All it took was another hit from Matt Hunwick, then playing for the Colorado Avalanche. That hit was just too much for a recovering Savard to take and it forced the team to put him on Injury Reverse in February.

Although necessary, it was ultimately that decision which has now sparked a debate in the NHL. That IR left Savard sitting at home that spring during the playoffs when his team won the Stanley Cup. Not only was he unable to be on the ice, he couldn’t even be on the sidelines cheering his team on because his ill health had forced him to stay at home. And then came the worst of it — because Savard did not dress for the game or any of the games during those playoffs, his name according to NHL rules, will not be etched onto the cup.

So what now? Well, Savard doesn’t have another chance at the Cup. The Bruins came out yesterday and said that they have deemed Savard to still be too unhealthy to play and that they’re not willing to put his health at risk. He’ll be out for the entire season and the conclusion has basically been drawn that Savard’s career in the NHL is over.

And because he doesn’t have a chance, many think that his name should appear on the Cup, and it just might. Currently, GM for the Bruins, Peter Chiarelli, as well as the other Bruins’ execs and all of the players are fighting hard to get the league to make exception to the rule and have one of hockey’s greats remembered as just that.

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