Savard and Gomez are very similar players in my opinion, not so much in style of play, but more so in the way fans perceive them as stars but not nearly superstars.
My problem is that I think Gomez is very hit or miss and I think we put a lot of our money in one basket for a player not nearly worth all that cash. He may lead the league in assists this year or he may post a 50 point season. We would be in much better shape if we had Marc Savards production (last 2 season around 95 points) and contract (3 yrs remaining @ 5 million per). I just don't see Gomez being our best forward from now until 2014 which he is being payed to do. I mean if he is our best forward over that span i think we have problems.
Savard on the other hand now seems to be pretty underpayed and even if he begins to lose his offensive abilities he only has 3 years left.
Gomez by far. He has carried the Devils through Elias injuries, plus is known as a team guy. Marc Savard has been whispered to be not so good in the locker room. Besides, I could put up 60 points centering Hossa and Kovalchuk.
Savard and Gomez are very similar players in my opinion, not so much in style of play, but more so in the way fans perceive them as stars but not nearly superstars.
My problem is that I think Gomez is very hit or miss and I think we put a lot of our money in one basket for a player not nearly worth all that cash. He may lead the league in assists this year or he may post a 50 point season. We would be in much better shape if we had Marc Savards production (last 2 season around 95 points) and contract (3 yrs remaining @ 5 million per). I just don't see Gomez being our best forward from now until 2014 which he is being payed to do. I mean if he is our best forward over that span i think we have problems.
Savard on the other hand now seems to be pretty underpayed and even if he begins to lose his offensive abilities he only has 3 years left.
Discuss
Gomez is two years younger and at least appears to care about backchecking (Savard appears to have a very Luc Robitaille-esque attitiude about defense and backchecking). I'm going with Gomez, I've just got this feeling he's gonna be looking at 80-85 points playing alongside either Shanny or Jagr.
True, in a straight up comparison, Savard looks attractive. I think he might be more naturally talented, though also possibly more inconsistent with his talent in some ways.
Gomez I think has a ton of talent, but hasn't always got to showcase it. Some of that has been his own drawbacks, and some of that has been the Devils. I don't think we have to worry about him only getting 50 points. I seem to recall he was injured last year at some point? Had an "eh" year and still did 60 points. With Jagr or Shanny, I think he'll break at least 80 again.
But I also think the Rangers have looked at Gomez's pedigree in terms of winning cups and being on successful teams. Not something that Savard has done. That combined with a perceived better attitude makes him more attractive than Savard in some ways.
There's a lot to like about Savard, but I don't think he fits this team well. One thing that Sather and Renney have put an onus on for their forwards is skating, which is not Savard's strong suit.
I like Gomez better for the Rangers. For various reasons, not all of them his fault, I think Gomez has not shown what he is capable of in the NHL. I really think now is his time to shine.
Savard. Salaries being equal, not sure. Was going to say Gomez for intangibles (mostly playing in Jersey in a winning and defensive system), but Savard with Jagr would be pretty scary (a bit more scary than Gomez with Jagr). Savard single-handily carried Boston on his back. Selfish or not, he is a good player. Also, $2MM less of a hit on the cap locks Henke up today, or could be used elsewhere.
Let's see, Marc Savard is one of the top 3 passing centers in all of hockey, and he's selfish? And he's a locker room cancer based on what exactly..The guy has matured alot since his days in NYR and Calgary, but people just keep using that..Hartley loved him in Atl and he is a great fit in Boston.....He can play in almost all situation, excells on the PP and, ask any Bruin fan, he was one of the few that gave 110% all last season.
I think he's a better player then Gomez, a better passer, a better PP guy, and much more bang for the buck. OTOH, Gomez is faster, a bit better defensively and indeed has been a winner (unlike Savard)..And that can't be over-rated..I'm happy with Gomez but would have been happy with Savard last year..
Let's see, Marc Savard is one of the top 3 passing centers in all of hockey, and he's selfish? And he's a locker room cancer based on what exactly..The guy has matured alot since his days in NYR and Calgary, but people just keep using that..Hartley loved him in Atl and he is a great fit in Boston.....He can play in almost all situation, excells on the PP and, ask any Bruin fan, he was one of the few that gave 110% all last season.
I think he's a better player then Gomez, a better passer, a better PP guy, and much more bang for the buck. OTOH, Gomez is faster, a bit better defensively and indeed has been a winner (unlike Savard)..And that can't be over-rated..I'm happy with Gomez but would have been happy with Savard last year..
100% right. Savard has far more talent and hasn't had any problems in his last 3 years in the locker room that I've read about. The biggest problem he's ever had is people underestimating his skill. He finally got 1st line center ice time and proved he's a first line center. If you were a throw in for Jamie Lundmark, you'd have a chip on your shoulder too!
Savard has certainly put up outstanding offensive numbers and has seemed to matured as he has gotten older.
It will be interesting to see how Gomez will do numbers-wise now that he has been liberated from the Devs and will be centering for Jagr.
I think that after this year we will have a better sense of how they compare.
Scored 97 points in 05-06
Scored 96 points in 06-07 with PJ Stinking Axelsson as his LWer and Glen Murray as his RWer for only half the year.
Not to mention look at Kovalchuk's #'s
05-06 With Savard 52G 46A
06-07 W/O Savard 42G 34A
So everyone who says I could put up 60 points playing with Hossa and Kovalchuk think again Savard doesn't need Kovalchuk to produce Kovalchuk needs Savard.
Savard is the best contract in the league hands down and his bad reputation is crap.
That's nice. He's also never been a + player. It's not an all telling stat but it does show that he's not a great defensive player.
Savard: career -77.
Gomez: career +6.
This is a bit misleading. Sure, Savard's no Selke winner, but look at the teams. Last year, for instance, he was -19, but most players on the Bruins were in the -15 to -25 range. It just wasn't a good team. In 2005-2006, he was actually +7 on a Thrashers team where most of the players were in the minus category; Ilya Kovalchuk was -6. If you play on a bad team, or one with a weak defense, you're going to usually have a lower +/-.
Whereas not only has Gomez never played on a bad team, he's spent his career on probably the most defensively sound team in the league. In fact, it's almost surprising that he's only +6.
Savard has certainly put up outstanding offensive numbers and has seemed to matured as he has gotten older.
It will be interesting to see how Gomez will do numbers-wise now that he has been liberated from the Devs and will be centering for Jagr.
I think that after this year we will have a better sense of how they compare.
Yep, now that hes on a real scoring team, his numbers should go up. Last year the Devils had one of the lowest amount of goals scorered for as a team. I think Savard is a under rated player, and if you wanted to choice between the two based on points, youd pick savard. But Savard has also show how bad he plays in new york, when he was a ranger. Maybe because he was a rookie, but as soon as he left, hes put up decent numbers. Gomez doesnt score as many goals as Savard, but he has the potential to. Two years ago he scored 33 goals, so hopefullyhell have another breakout year. Gomez also does a lot of good stuff, like he skates better, and is also better defensively than Savard. Gomez is also good in the playoffs, and has tons of exspearience, and has won the cup. I think that it goes Gomez as the better player 4 out of 5 times
You get what you pay for! Without the cap increasing I doubt Gomez gets the money he got. The difference in the salaries is the increase in the cap. Gomez is the better all round player.
Marc Savard suffers from what I like to call the "Joe Thornton Syndrome" yes both are gifted offensive players, but I am honestly not a big fan of either one. Hear me out... they both are capable of racking up large amount of assists due to the fact that they continuously throw high risk passes into the slot looking for a teamate (cheechoo) now this isn't a bad thing by itself, but it also leads to many turnovers and odd man rushes against. couple that with the fact neither of them is anything close to a selke candidate, and seem to play lazy in general. I will admit Savard has come a long way though. Still, I wouldn't take either of them on my team.
I'd argue that Savard has played on teams that were not as good defensively as the teams on which Gomez played. Last season Savard was a big minus, and most everybody on his team was a minus. Savard was, however, a +7 two seasons ago with Atlanta (small nit).
Of course, having further thought about this, doesn't Gomez make a living on the PP in a similar position as Jagr, around the right circle, dishing out the puck? Ditto Savard. Wonder how that's going to work.
I'd argue that Savard has played on teams that were not as good defensively as the teams on which Gomez played. Last season Savard was a big minus, and most everybody on his team was a minus. Savard was, however, a +7 two seasons ago with Atlanta (small nit).
Of course, having further thought about this, doesn't Gomez make a living on the PP in a similar position as Jagr, around the right circle, dishing out the puck? Ditto Savard. Wonder how that's going to work.
Those Calgary teams weren't awful defensively.
Regardless of the numbers, Savard is not well known to be interested in playing both sides of the ice.
Savard and Gomez are very similar players in my opinion, not so much in style of play, but more so in the way fans perceive them as stars but not nearly superstars.
My problem is that I think Gomez is very hit or miss and I think we put a lot of our money in one basket for a player not nearly worth all that cash. He may lead the league in assists this year or he may post a 50 point season. We would be in much better shape if we had Marc Savards production (last 2 season around 95 points) and contract (3 yrs remaining @ 5 million per). I just don't see Gomez being our best forward from now until 2014 which he is being payed to do. I mean if he is our best forward over that span i think we have problems.
Savard on the other hand now seems to be pretty underpayed and even if he begins to lose his offensive abilities he only has 3 years left.
Discuss
um, savard and his significantly cheaper contract & "selfish" 90 points please.
100% right. Savard has far more talent and hasn't had any problems in his last 3 years in the locker room that I've read about. The biggest problem he's ever had is people underestimating his skill. He finally got 1st line center ice time and proved he's a first line center. If you were a throw in for Jamie Lundmark, you'd have a chip on your shoulder too!
