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Marc Savard has been among the game's best playmakers since the lockout, but the Bruins are looking to move him to make cap room. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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In the five seasons since the lockout, only Joe Thornton and Marc Savard have ranked in the top six in regular season assists four times. Aside from their ability to distribute the puck as well as anyone in the game, the two centers obviously have another thing in common: it looks like both will be run out of Boston despite their individual success.

When now-departed Boston GM Mike Sullivan jettisoned Thornton to San Jose 23 games into the 2005-06 season for three players (Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau) — pinning the Bruins’ postseason failures on the player they draft first overall in 1997 — all of hockey wondered why Sullivan would deal one of hockey's most dominant offensive players for a 75-cents-on-the-dollar return. But with three pre-lockout seasons of early postseason exits and the perception that Thornton wasn't capable of being the driving force behind a winner, Sullivan decided Boston would be better off without their once-upon-a-time savior.

With Savard seemingly the next assist machine on his way out of Beantown —albeit for vastly different reasons — the Bruins are once again gambling that they can ship off their top playmaker and come away from it a better team. The trouble is that unlike in the 2006 offseason, there isn't a player to replace Savard the way he eventually filled Thornton's role.

The B’s failed to make the postseason in 2005-06, but signed Savard that offseason because he was capable of filling the playmaking void created when Thornton was shipped to the West Coast. Savard was the ideal fit for Boston — a pass-first pivot who wouldn't be expected to carry a team the way Thornton was supposed to. He'd replace Thornton’s assists without having to live up to the expectations heaped on No. 19. Boston did spend one more year out of the playoffs, but has been a legitimate threat since, something many considered impossible when they saw what the Bruins got back in return for Thornton.

As for the current Bruins, they are fortunate to not only be loaded with talent, but also have hot shot center Tyler Seguin, the second overall pick last month chosen with a draft pick acquired from Toronto in the trade that sent Phil Kessel to the Maple Leafs. With winger Taylor Hall off to Edmonton with the first overall pick, the B’s settled on the talented Seguin despite their center depth: Savard, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Vladimir Sobotka.

To make room for Seguin, the Bruins first shipped Sobotka — and his $750,000 salary— to St. Louis. But with a glut of centers still on the roster and their salary cap number pressed to the ceiling, it looks like Savard will be the next player on an outgoing T out of Boston. With a cap hit of more than $4 million a season, Savard could still be considered a bargain for a team that needs a first-line center. But for Boston — who has cap burdens like Vezina winner-turned-backup Tim Thomas and underachieiving Michael Ryder, plus big salaried players like Bergeron, Krejci, Zdeno Chara, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic — having three $4 million-plus-a-year centers is a luxury they can't afford.

But why move Savard — who also has a no-trade clause, making things even more difficult — when he is the proven catalyst for the Bruins offense? Why not Bergeron, who costs more ($4.75M) against the cap than Savard ($4.01M) and is under contract for just one more season compared to the seven years left on the soon-to-be 33-year-old? Savard's concussion problems from last year are certainly a concern, especially with a contract that runs until 2017. That means any return they might get for him — especially when every GM in the league knows the predicament the Bruins are in — will be small or smaller. If the team instead offered up Bergeron, they could get assets in return (preferably picks and/or prospects who wouldn't count against the cap) while holding on to Savard. Savard's full no-trade clause becomes a partial no-trade following the 2010-11 season, making him somewhat easier to move if Boston needs to make more salary space to re-sign Chara, who will be an unrestricted free agent next July.

Furthermore, forcing Savard out of town Dan Boyle-style would probably give some future unrestricted free agents reasons to pause in deciding to come to Beantown.

As I mentioned before, this isn't the first time Boston has shopped their top point manufacturer. On top of the Thornton trade — which led to back-to-back seasons without a playoff berth — the Bruins took a step back in the late '90s when they dealt playmaker extraordinaire Adam Oates to Washington in 1997. Sure, Jason Allison — who was acquired as part of the Oates deal — was a short-term patch for the role, but like the Savard situation now, moving Oates meant sending away not just a good center but one of the game's best assist men. A couple seasons later they were among the league's bottom feeders — a situation that brings us full circle to the drafting of Thornton.

Certainly this Bruins team would still have enough talent to compete in the Eastern Conference even if Savard is shipped off, but doing so would leave Boston with Bergeron and Krejci in the top two center spots and likely put pressure on Seguin to produce in his rookie season. Bergeron has shown he can be the Bruins' top guy before, and Krejci's 73-point season two years ago opened eyes. But Bergeron's repeated concussion problems coupled with Krejci's 21-point drop in production last year make you wonder if deciding to move Savard is the right short- and long-term move for Boston.

Boston was fortunate that the Thornton trade ended up working out OK. But rolling the dice twice could come back to bite the B's.