Newly retired Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Savard was a guest on the popular podcast La Poche Bleue this week. The show, created by Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse, is known for its laid-back interview style, which hasn’t changed.

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In the half-hour chat, the blueliner spoke about multiple topics, including his debut in the league, the life of a hockey player, how his style of play had to change, and his time with the Habs.

A fourth-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2009 draft, Savard recorded 70 points in his last season in the QJMHL with the Moncton Wildcats. When he first made the Ohio team, he had a more offensive role and was even seeing some power play time, but that all changed when the Jackets drafted Seth Jones. The defenseman explained that his game had to evolve to stay in the league, and that’s how he became more of a power play specialist.

As for his ability to block shots, he explained it might have come from the fact that he wanted to be a goaltender when he was younger. He even joked that he might become the Canadiens’ emergency goaltender. A couple of weeks ago, he was at the CN Sports Complex, and Mike Matheson wanted to skate and take some shots to prepare for the World Championship, but there was no goaltender on hand, so Savard obliged, wearing Samuel Montembeault’s gear.

The veteran also praised the Canadiens’ youngsters for their willingness to learn and the respect they always gave him. Nobody ever once looked at him as if to say, “What do you know, you old and slow shot blocker?” Every one of them was keen to learn from him.

A sign that he’s been around for a while, Savard recalled that when he first travelled on the road with the Jackets, players used to go out for drinks, eat later, and go back to their hotel much later. Nowadays, the players go for dinner around 6:00 PM, and by 7:30, they are heading back to their rooms, playing video games. While it’s a different vibe, he didn’t say he preferred one option. Hanging out in hotel rooms and chatting is not a bad way to spend your evening.

While he once thought about trying to reach 1,000 games, he explained it just wasn’t doable for him. He’s a realist, saying he’s older and moves slower, so it wouldn’t have been possible to do it, needing two more full seasons to reach the milestone.

As a shot blocker, he explained how Shea Weber was the scariest player to face. His shot once bent one of his pads, and underneath it, a bump was on his leg. That’s quite something.

Finally, he said he absolutely loved hanging out with Montembeault once he joined the Canadiens; he was kind of a revelation to him. He explained that he was kind of like a big kid with not a single problem in his life. When he was with the Jackets, he was hanging out with many Russian players, including his mentor Fedor Tyutin. He explained that he did pick up Russian words here and there.

On Martin St-Louis, he said he relentlessly tried to find fixes when something went wrong. He said that after the Canadiens were demolished by either the New York Rangers or the Seattle Kraken, the coach took 48 hours to determine what went wrong and came back to them to explain what happened. Overall, this was a fascinating interview with plenty of inside information.

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