Toucher & Rich: Peter Chiarelli On The Savard Situation
BOSTON (CBS) - Bruins' General Manager Peter Chiarelli made his weekly call into Toucher and Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub Wednesday morning and you can probably guess what the main topic was.
Chiarelli said injured center Marc Savard is feeling better, but is still groggy after suffering his second concussion in less than a year on Saturday.
"The issue with Marc is the concussion happened so soon after the significant concussion," Chiarelli said. That has a lot of bearing on his recoverability and what not. That's what we have to watch very closely."
Listen to Peter Chiarelli on Toucher and Rich in its entirety
Savard was just getting into a rhythm 10 months after the Matt Cooke hit that sidelined him for the end of the regular season last year, and kept him out of the Bruins lineup for the first 23 games this season.
"He was certainly not 100-percent," Chiarelli said. "But with his skills, head smarts and vision, if you have him at 85-percent, which probably he would have been, that's still pretty good."
Now there is a cloud of uncertainty surrounded the two-time All-Star. Saturday's concussion has been termed "moderate," but there is still no timetable for Savard's return.
This leaves the Bruins with questions at the center position.
"If he misses a short period of time, we look to what we have short term," Chiarelli said of the teams options. "Whether its keep Tyler (Seguin) in the middle, or you could elevate Soupy (Gregory Campbell), or we have centers down in Providence. We have short term depth if that's the case."
The Bruins have Zach Hamill in the minors, who Chiarelli feels is closer to the NHL than Joe Colborne. Hamill has three goals and 24 assists in 43 games down in Providence. He played in one game last season, tallying an assist in his NHL debut.
If Savard is out for a longer period of time, and possibly the rest of the regular season, Chiarelli knows he will have to look elsewhere for a replacement.
"If Marc is out, he'd have to be out for the whole year for me to go out and find a significant replacement, a bona-fide NHL player," the general manager said.
The Bruins host the Florida Panthers at the TD Garden Wednesday night. You can hear the game on 98.5 The Sports Hub with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30p.m.
