BOSTON - Marc Savard will miss the rest of the season after he was placed on long-term injured reserve on Monday with his second concussion in less than a year.

"I have a lot of feelings going on. I think I'm frustrated, mostly," he said. "It's tough to understand why this happened. It will take time and patience, those two things I don't feel like I have much of."

Savard was injured in the Bruins' Jan 22 game against Colorado, when he was checked into the end boards' glass by former teammate Matt Hunwick. Savard also sustained a concussion against Pittsburgh on March 7, 2010. He did not return until the second round of the playoffs and missed the first 23 games of this season.

Bruins doctor Peter Asnis said it's not clear what effect the previous concussion had on this injury.

"As far as this hit goes, he sustained a concussion, and he likely would have whether or not he sustained a concussion last year," Asnis said. "Certainly we worry about players who have multiple concussions going forward."

Savard has two goals and eight assists in 25 games, and 207 goals and 499 assists in a 13-year career that also includes stops with the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames and Atlanta Thrashers. He signed with Boston as a free agent in 2006 and was re-signed in 2009 to a seven-year extension that takes him through the 2016-17 season.

Savard said it was too early to decide whether he will be able to return.

"I'm not going to make any decision about my future until I get some more medical stuff done. I've just got to be patient going forward," he said. "My agent talked to me a lot, and he gave me time to think about a lot of things. It's going to be tough, especially watching them play."

Savard's first concussion was the result of a check by Penguins forward Matt Cooke that led the NHL to outlaw blindside hits to the head. Savard missed the last 18 games of the regular season but returned for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia.

Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli said the blindside hit rule has helped, but he also thought the league should look at other ways to keep players safe, like making the pads softer.

Associated Press

(China Daily 02/09/2011 page24)