Should the Bruins shut Marc Savard down?

Marc Savard has been cleared to practice with the team after being out for 6 weeks missing 22 games with post concussion symptoms as a result of a bush league blind side hit by uber hack Matt Cooke. While the bloggers and media will pontificate on when players should return from a concussion, I think the decision needs to be with the player and the team doctors.

A championship is not worth risking any athlete's health, let alone a first round series. This is why Peter Chiarelli and Claude Julien are wise to temper expectations for the return of dynamic center Marc Savard. This is why you hope the general manager and head coach of the Boston Bruins back up their words, even if their team's 3-1 lead over the Buffalo Sabres starts to dwindle after Game 5 on Friday in Buffalo.

The Bruins should not look for inspiration from a heroic return by Savard in this series against their division rivals. Julien is far better off sending the optimistic message, "Win this series and we get Savvy back for Round 2."

It would be so easy for the Bruins' brass to talk themselves into a Savard return. "We really need him on the power play, and no one's going to touch him there," could be one reasoning. "We'll break him in easily with some fourth line duty," is another. After all, with Bergeron and Krejci at center, the Bruins don't need Savard for his usual 18 minutes a game.

Hopefully, Julien will remember his words on Wednesday morning after Savard passed his neuropsychological exam and was cleared to practice. ][Fan House]