Marc Savard couldn't hide his unhappiness with being snubbed by Team Canada

Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara were the two building blocks for Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli when the hockey executive first came onto the scene in Boston, and the 32-year-old center — entering the final year of a four-year deal he signed on July 1, 2006 –  said that he’s hoping to sign another deal allowing him to finish his hockey career in Boston.

Savard was the B’s leading scorer with 25 goals and 63 assists last season, and has blossomed into an All-Star player under coach Claude Julien. Entering the final year of his $5 million per year deal with a great deal of financial uncertainty in the NHL’s future, Savard isn’t bothered by the unknown and is simply focused on driving the B’s toward a Stanley Cup.

Savard said he’s fully recovered from the left knee injury suffered in the playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes, and he skated “10 or 15 times” before hitting the practice ice with his teammates at Ristuccia Arena for the first time on Tuesday morning.

“It’s a great city and I’ve enjoyed my time here so far,” said Savard, from the Bruins Foundation’s annual golf tournament at The International in Bolton, MA. “It’s a place that I’d like to finish if the chance comes and I’m excited to get the season going. Things keep getting better and our team keeps getting better, so that only helps everybody when that happens. I want to stay here. This is a place I love. I love the people. I love the fans. This is where I want to be.

“I’m not worried about the contract at all. (Peter and I) have a good relationship. Ever since I came to Boston I’ve given everything I had and if things work out well — and I think they will — then I’m going to be here for a long, long time.”

Savard was also visibly peeved when asked about getting snubbed by Hockey Canada when team officials announced the lineup for their Olympic Team Orientation Camp this summer. The crafty centerman was conspicuously absent from an admittedly talented roster of players, and that’s not sitting well with the two-time All-Star. Savard said that he shared an agent, Larry Kelly, with Steve Yzerman, one of the hockey minds charged with constructing the Canadian National Team, and that private campaigning with the Team Canada Executive Director for an invitation didn’t quite work for the skilled B’s pivot.

Savard has instead decided to turn the first half of the 2009-10 hockey season into a resume tape for Team Canada to watch what they might be missing out in Vancover come February. Though he was on the driving range at the International and excited for a day of golf with his teammates, Savard couldn’t hide the sting of disappointment at being left off the squad.

“I was pretty upset about it,” said Savard, who then cast his head down toward the ground as he talked about it. “I feel that I had a chance to at least go to the camp. I didn’t really come out and say anything. I had a lot of calls for a couple weeks after that. It’s something I didn’t want to talk about. I was pretty mad about it. I’ve had to prove myself over and over again. I’m hoping to get off to a good start. I still haven’t counted myself out, so I guess that’s all that matters.

“I’m going to go out and do what I do…try to prove somebody else wrong. I’m worried about the Bruins and winning games. I didn’t really talk to anybody (behind the scenes) but my agent had Yzerman as a player and he did most of the talking. I don’t know what happened, but I have to just keep trying to prove them wrong and have a good start to the season.”