A Marc Savard appreciation post

He wasn't coming back to play for the Bruins, but last week's trade of Marc Savard's contract marks the end of an era.

By Dan.Ryan@bruinshockeynow Jul 6, 2015, 10:30am EDT

The return of native son Jimmy Hayes and the shipping-out of Reilly Smith were the biggest parts of last Wednesday's Bruins-Panthers trade, but there was a footnote: the trading of Marc Savard (really, of Marc Savard's contract), marking the end of Savard's nearly nine-year tenure with the team.

Once A Bruin Always A Bruin
— marc savard (@MSavvy91) July 2, 2015

Savard wasn't going to play for the Bruins again. But the symbolic trade of his contract marks the end of an era of sorts, officially closing the book on one of the more talented players the Bruins have had in quite some time.

The acquisition of Savard was one part of what one could argue was one of the most franchise-altering days in Bruins history: July 1, 2006, when the Bruins signed both Savard and Zdeno Chara on the opening day of free agency.

Savard had some huge years as a Bruin, especially his 96-point season on a terrible, terrible 2006-2007 Bruins team. However, his career was cut short by noted garbage hockey player Matt Cooke, and while he made a few comeback attempts, Savard played his last professional hockey game in 2011.

With Savard's time as a Bruin officially over and nothing else going on in Bruins-land (yet), let's take a look back at some great Savard moments.