(7) Shawn Horcoff v. (10) Marc Savard

by Scott Reynolds on Mar 27, 2011 9:54 AM MDT

The weekend began with an upset; in the closest vote of the tournament so far, Chris Pronger's value to his team now was considered much higher than that of Mattias Ohlund by enough voters that the long-term risks involved with Pronger's deal could be overlooked. Today, we're into the second-last match in the first round and it once again feature an Oiler in oft-injured centerman Shawn Horcoff. His opponent is an even bigger injury risk - Marc Savard. The case for each man after the jump.

Shawn Horcoff

You know a contract is bad when it might hurt Edmonton's chances of competing for a Stanley Cup. That means it lasts long enough to matter, and it's bad enough that they can't get rid of it now. Shawn Horcoff gets a lot of love from most of the Oiler fans online (that I read with any frequency), mostly in reaction to what is perceived to be a lack of appreciation for his skills. Those skills are mostly defensive; he usually takes on tough opposition, and he usually takes on more defensive zone draws than he does offensive zone draws. But... he's getting paid enough that he should be able to do that and score. He can't. Over the last four years, Horcoff was amassed 166 points, good for just 109th in the league among forwards despite ranking 6th in ice time. Now, I know that a lot of his ice time is coming in disadvantageous situations for offense, but that's a pretty huge discrepancy. In 2007-08, he showed that he could score if he was given softer minutes, and in 2008-09 he showed that he could handle tough opposition. He can't do both. To top it off, staying healthy is becoming more and more of a challenge.

Marc Savard

But the injury risk there pales in comparison to the injury risk here. I thought this was going to be a good deal for the Bruins when they signed it, but a few concussions later, it's not looking nearly as good. If Savard comes back healthy, or just retires the problems for the Bruins go away, but the worst case scenario is certainly possible: Savard refuses to retire but comes back a lesser player. Given his age, it's hard to think that it'll be otherwise if he doesn't choose retirement. There's no question that Savard was good, but today? Well, let's just say that this deal stands alongside Rick DiPietro's as a reminder that things change.

The Bracket

Poll

Which player has a worse contract going forward?

(7) Shawn Horcoff

130 votes

(10) Marc Savard

170 votes

300 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

With the news that Savard has been experiencing memory problems, it’s looking more and more like he’s going to retire.

This is where a witty signature might go.
This is where a witty signature might go on drugs.

by Bower Power on Mar 27, 2011 9:57 AM MDT reply actions

I bet on him being on the LTIR for at least another year while he recovers.

without honor, victory is hollow

by SumOil on Mar 27, 2011 11:35 AM MDT up reply actions

This is damn close Scott. It made me think for more than 10 seconds.
Savard for me

without honor, victory is hollow

by SumOil on Mar 27, 2011 11:35 AM MDT reply actions

SCORECOFF

Manager at Vancouver Whitecaps and western Canadian soccer website Eighty Six Forever and infrequently-posting flunky at Edmonton Oilers blog The Copper & Blue.

by Benjamin Massey on Mar 27, 2011 12:24 PM MDT reply actions

Scott check this out ….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PPuV7jK33k&feature=related

by One_Roy_Save_On_The_Calendar on Mar 27, 2011 3:51 PM MDT reply actions

Gotta go with Savard. If Savard can’t be useful offensively anymore, he doesn’t have a defensive game to make up for it.

The Edmonton Oilers - All we do is win!!

by OilLeak on Mar 27, 2011 3:52 PM MDT reply actions

But that’s such a MacTavish/Horcoffian mentality!

au contraire monsieur

If HORCOFF can’t be useful DEfensively anymoer, he doesn’t have a blah blah blah……….Horcoff does play great defensive hockey,he’s an AMAZING DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Personally, Id rather have seen Savard’s 400+ points since the lockout! NUFF SAID!

by One_Roy_Save_On_The_Calendar on Mar 28, 2011 2:17 AM MDT up reply actions

i must concede horcoff has almost 300 points in this period, this stat hurts my argument tremendously!

by One_Roy_Save_On_The_Calendar on Mar 28, 2011 2:19 AM MDT up reply actions

If they are both healthy, I’d rather have Savard’s contract. Because they can’t I’d still rather have Savard’s because he’s injured more often, thereby he can be put on LTIR or retire.

In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!

by dawgbone98 on Mar 28, 2011 7:51 AM MDT reply actions

Horcoff’s contract is worse.

When Savard is healthy he’s an impact player. One of the best puck distributors in the entire league.

When Horcoff is healthy he’s a borderline top 6 guy that the coach can trust.

Leaving the contact and injuries aside Marc Savard is a much better player than Horcoff.

Looking at the contracts there is a good chance that Savard retires leaving Boston with no cap hit while Edmonton is likely on he hook for another 4 seasons at 5.5 and 19.5 real money.

Horcoff’s contract is worse.

by Traktor on Mar 28, 2011 10:43 AM MDT reply actions

When Savard is healthy he’s an impact player.

He was healthy in parts of this season but not very impactful.
And now given his age and injuries, we dont really know if he will be impactful going forward.

without honor, victory is hollow

by SumOil on Mar 28, 2011 10:59 AM MDT up reply actions

Don’t worry, I’ll bump this in a year.

by Traktor on Mar 28, 2011 3:17 PM MDT up reply actions

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