Habs prefer to drag this rebuild out for a decade.
Weak take IMO. It's not like trading him would've got us out of the rebuild instantly. I think we still have one more year of deliberate tanking before trying to be competitive again.
You need veteran presence for kids to develop in a rebuild and Savard is a damn good one. Habs value his presence more than a 2nd/late 1st. Guy wants to be here, he wants his kids to grow up in french like he did.
On top of that we can still sell him as a rental at next year's deadline.
And lastly, why would we do any favor to one of our biggest rival when we're absolutely not desperate not to. If you absolutely needed him you had to overpay. As a Habs fan, I like that he chose to do that.