And the countdown begins…

Marc Savard is set to address the media at 10:30 on Saturday morning. After a summer of speculation and trade rumors, Peter Chiarelli notified the media last Friday that Savard would miss the beginning of camp after shutting down his training due to symptoms of post-concussion syndrome.

Savard suffered the concussion on March 7 on a hit from Penguins forward Matt Cooke. He missed the remainder of the regular season before returning for the team’s second-round matchup with the Flyers.

The center, who is entering the first year of a seven-year, $28.5 million extension, hasn’t spoken to the Boston media since the end of last season, though he did tell the Ottawa Sun that he was “hurt” by the idea of the team trading him. Details are currently unknown of what developments may come of the session.

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli issued the following statement Tuesday regarding center Marc Savard:

“As I stated on Friday, Marc Savard is suffering from symptoms related to post-concussion syndrome. He is under the care of our doctors. Any reports that suggest that there are any other issues regarding Marc, or him not playing for the Bruins this season, are completely inaccurate.

“Also, as I have previously stated, when there is a change in Marc’s status, I will issue an update.”

Earlier Tuesday, a source told ESPNBoston that Savard could miss the upcoming season with post-concussion syndrome. Savard has been held out of training camp thus far due to PCS symptoms, and according to the report, a source within the organization said that Savard’s case is “not a good situation.”

After the team’s “State of the Bruins” town hall meeting, Chiarelli spoke about why he felt it was necessary to send out clarification on the subject, a rare practice in a town where rumors fly at a rapid rate.

“It’s not normally my practice to respond to stories like that unless I feel like it’s completely contradictory to what I said, which is the case here,” Chiarelli said. “We issued that statement saying that everything is the same as it was when we started the camp with Marc, and when there’s a change, I’ll be the one to update you and there has been no change. The notion that he’s going to miss the whole year and [that] it’s this complex issue frankly is far from the truth.

“The symptoms related to post-concussion syndrome, that’s not diminishing that condition, but he’s in good spirits. He’s been seen by our doctors, he’ll continue to be seen by our doctors and he’ll be back shortly.”

Savard suffered the concussion on a March 7 hit from Penguins forward Matt Cooke. The play kept him out for the remainder of the regular season, though he did return for the Eastern Conference finals against the Flyers

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Friday at TD Garden that Marc Savard notified him late in the summer that he is suffering from “symptoms related to post-concussion syndrome.” As a result, Savard, who is in Boston with his teammates as they open training camp, will not skate. The symptoms shown by the veteran center are undoubtedly a result of the March 7 hit from Penguins forward Matt Cooke.

Chiarelli said that as a result of the setback, second overall pick Tyler Seguin, expected to be moved to wing given the team’s depth at center, will stick to his original position for the time being.

“I suspect any time missed from camp for Savvy will have to be made up, just from pure conditioning and catching up,” Chiarelli said. “We’ll take it day by day, but we’re looking at other lineups now, with and without Savvy.”

Chiarelli noted that it’s been a few weeks since Savard has been able to work out after training hard throughout the earlier part of the offseason. His teammates and coach are hoping for a speedy recovery.

“It’s unfortunate,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “Right now we’re missing a real good player. …I think it’s pretty unanimous  in our group that we want him back as soon as possible.”

Patrice Bergeron, no stranger to concussions when considering the 2007 hit from behind from Flyers Randy Jones, said he was made aware of the development on Friday and that he wishes Savard the best despite not having all the details. He didn’t know how to explain the negative turn Savard’s recovery has taken, but chalked that up to the nature of the injury.

“It’s so different from one guy to another with concussions. It’s hard to tell and that’s why it’s hard to treat,” Bergeron said. “That’s why doctors never really know what can and cannot happen. To me, it happened that way that it took me a long long time, that more than Savvy, and it didn’t come back but Savvy’s is coming back. It’s never the same, but I’m supporting him and I just want him to feel better.”

BOLTON — Cam Neely and Nathan Horton could be seen talking and laughing prior to teeing off at The International for the Bruins’ annual golf tournament on Monday. For Horton, his Bruins career has consisted of throwing out a first pitch at Fenway, playing street hockey with kids, scrimmaging with no coaches, surprising season-ticket holders by delivering their tickets with Milan Lucic, and now golfing. Given his excitement to be in Boston and factoring in all the aforementioned perks, one might dare to suggest that nobody is more excited for the 2010-11 season than Horton.

Except Neely, of course.

At his formal introduction as team president this summer, Neely spoke with passion of how the fans deserved more. Now on the other side of the offseason, Neely reinforced his line of thinking that the team has “unfinished business to take care of” and noted that he feels Peter Chiarelli and co. have put together “a much better club this year.”

Though Neely praised the talents of Horton and Tyler Seguin, the offseason’s other prize, he offered a unique perspective when discussing the subject of trade talks with returning players. Names such as Michael Ryder, Tim Thomas, and most notably Marc Savard came up frequently through either reports or speculation.

“Speaking as a former player, you can’t worry about what’s out of your control. The way I looked at it when I was a player was, you hear about rumors and things that you can’t really control, you can’t worry about it.

“The only thing you can worry about are the stuff you can control, whether it’s in sports or in general. That’s how I approached it as a player and that’s how I would think most players would approach it. It’s always difficult if you hear your name mentioned in ways you don’t want it to be mentioned, but things you can’t control, you shouldn’t worry too much about.”

Neely knows a good amount about trades given the fact that he himself was dealt from the Canucks to the Bruins back in 1986. He can only hope that the team’s most recent trade for a big winger in Horton works out the way it did back then.

WILMINGTON — Any concerns over how happy Marc Savard is after hearing his name in trade rumors all season were met with some positive news Sunday, where Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said the center was in town last week. Though he won’t be back in Boston for Monday’s golf tournament, Savard did hit the links recently by playing a round with Chiarelli himself.

“He was in good spirits and [is in a] good frame of mind right now,” Chiarelli said of their day together.

Savard had said in August that he was “hurt” by the idea of the team considering him in a potential trade. He signed a seven-year, $28.5 million extension in December.

Someone who hasn’t played a video game in years may not have the best perspective on this, but here goes:

WEEI.com was able to get their hands on a copy on a copy of NHL ’11, the most recent edition of the popular EA Sports hockey video game. After taking a gander at the ratings of Bruins players, Boston fans should have something to say about how their team is represented.

Overall, the team is an 88. The offense is an 87 and the defense is an 85. The goaltending gets an 89.

Here are the individual ratings. First, the skaters:

Zdeno Chara: 89

Marc Savard: 88

Nathan Horton: 84

David Krejci: 83

Milan Lucic: 83

Michael Ryder: 82

Marco Sturm: 82

Mark Recchi: 82 Read the rest of this entry »

On the same day that the NHL dropped its investigation of Marc Savard‘s contract, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli told ESPN’s James Murphy that he’s assured the center that he will remain in Boston.

“There is all these things that happen and there are always things that swirl around about moving guys, and I cannot respond to anything in kind because I don’t directly comment on trade rumors,” Chiarelli told Murphy. “I can tell you, though, that there was discussion and inquiries on Marc and they became public.

“There has been a number of inquires on a lot of the players, some become public and some don’t for obvious reasons, but as we told Marc, that’s part of the business and he understood that. I made sure he knows what we think of him: He is a Boston Bruin and an elite offensive player we’re happy to have on this team.”

Savard signed a contract extension with the Bruins worth $28.5 million over seven years in December. Under the rules at the time, the deal would call for a $4.007 million cap hit, but since it circumvented the cap by tacking on additional years to decrease the hit, the NHL opened an investigation that could have lead to it’s voiding. The investigation was dropped after the NHLPA agreed to calculate cap hits so that later years of contracts couldn’t drastically water down a player’s cap hit.

The coming season will be Savard’s fifth in Boston after originally joining the Bruins as a free agent in 2006.In 41 games last year (he missed time due a concussion suffered on the infamous Matt Cooke hit on March 6) Savard had 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points. He had 88 points the year prior.