Savard took over as general manager in November 2000 and built the roster around draft picks Mike Komisarek, Tomas Plekanec and Chris Higgins, while a trade-deadline deal for Richard Zednik and Jan Bulis helped fuel a surprise first-round upset of Boston in the 2002 playoffs behind José Théodore and Saku Koivu. A missed playoffs in 2003 led to his replacement by Bob Gainey, though he remained with the organization afterward as assistant general manager.