After playing 790 games during his NHL career and coaching the Quebec Nordiques, Andre Savard was named general manager of the Montreal Canadiens on November 20, 2000, a position he would hold through the end of the 2002-03 season. In his first season as Rejean Houle’s successor, Savard’s team missed the playoffs, finishing last in the Northeast Division with 70 points. Thanks to the emergence of goalie Jose Theodore, the team recorded 87 points in 2001-02 – 17 points more than the previous season – and qualified for the playoffs. Theodore continued his exceptional play in the postseason and the underdog Canadiens disposed of the favored Boston Bruins in six games before bowing out in the next round.  Despite recording 77 points the following season, Montreal missed the playoffs for the second time in three years and Savard was relieved of his duties following the 2003 NHL Entry Draft when Bob Gainey came on board. In three seasons as the team’s GM, Savard was responsible for drafting Mike Komisarek (first round in 2001), Tomas Plekanec (third round in 2001), Christopher Higgins (first round in 2002), Andrei Kostitsyn (first round in 2003), Maxim Lapierre (second round in 2003), Ryan O’Byrne (third round in 2003), and Jaroslav Halak (ninth round in 2003). From 2003 to 2006, Savard remained with the Canadiens as the team’s assistant general manager under Bob Gainey.