Blue Jackets' David Savard cashes in with five-year extension

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard cashed in quite well on a career 2014-15.

The pending restricted free agent landed a five-year deal worth $4.25 million per-season, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. That bopped him up from his two-year contract worth $2.6 million total, which expires at the end of this season.

Last season, Savard notched 11 goals and added 25 assists for a career-high 36 points. He also averaged 22:56 per-contest. The previous year he had just 15 points. Also, his 11 goals were tied for second-most in a single season in club history, even with Jamie Heward’s mark set in 2000-01 and one behind Bryan Berard’s 12 goals with Columbus.

Hey, remember when Bryan Berard was a member of the Blue Jackets?

According to Natural Stat Trick, Savard held a 47.22 CF% and a minus-0.75 CF% Rel 5-on-5. This meant the Blue Jackets possessed the puck less than the other team when he was on the ice, and Columbus did better from a puck possession standpoint when Savard was not on the ice.

"Getting David signed to a contract extension was a priority for us and we are very happy to have reached a long-term deal with him," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement. "He has taken tremendous steps the past two seasons and responded very well to the larger role he played on our blueline last season.  We are excited about his future with the Blue Jackets."

For the 24-year-old Savard, the deal makes sense. He had one really good year and is cashing in on it with long-term security – even if it buys into his time as an unrestricted free agent.

Also, $4.25 million for a top pairing defenseman – if that’s what Savard truly is – will be a major bargain for Columbus.

And as the Dispatch notes, #cbj has four players locked up through 2020-21 between Savard, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad.

That team has a nice core for a lot of years, provided it can keep Ryan Johansen happy of course.

- - - - - - -

Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS