After his second season with the Generals, in which he scored a league-leading 139 points, he was selected 91st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.

Shortly after beginning his fourth season with the Flames, Savard was acquired by the Atlanta Thrashers from Calgary in exchange for Ruslan Zainullin on November 15, 2002.

Playing with superstar wingers Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk, Savard became a point-per-game player and recorded 52 points in 45 games during an injury shortened 2003–04 season.

At the end of his breakthrough season, Savard became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Boston Bruins to a four-year, $20 million contract on July 1, 2006.

As the Bruins faced the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round, Savard scored his first NHL playoff goal in the first overtime of Game 3.

Savard was named as a reserve to his second All-Star Game in Montreal the following season, in 2008–09, and helped lead the Bruins to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

[8] On January 7, 2010, only 28 seconds into his first shift on the ice, Marc Savard suffered a right knee injury after colliding with Jonathan Toews from the Chicago Blackhawks.

On March 7, 2010, Savard suffered a Grade 2 concussion in the third period of the Bruins' game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after getting a shoulder to the head from Matt Cooke.

[11] Savard enjoyed his personal day with the Stanley Cup on August 1, 2011, in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario; at that time, he announced he was still suffering the effects of his injury.

"[14] On September 12, 2011, Chiarelli announced Savard's name would be included on the Stanley Cup as he had missed games only due to injury.

[15] On July 1, 2015, Savard's contract with the Bruins was included in a trade of Reilly Smith to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jimmy Hayes due to salary cap circumstances.

[16] On June 10, 2016, Savard's contract was traded to the New Jersey Devils, along with a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, in exchange for Paul Thompson and Graham Black.