At a charity golf tournament yesterday, Alexei Kovalev told reporters that ideally he'd like to retire as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. This, of course, comes after he signed a two year deal with the Ottawa Senators.
I really can't figure him out on this one. He is easily one of the best players in the last 15 years, and without a doubt has THE best shot I have ever seen. His skills are legend. His heart on the other hand, is not. In the spring of '04, when Bob Gainey traded Jozef Balej to the New York Rangers for him, I was ecstatic. He had a great playoff that year in the first round against the Bruins, but was hit and miss for the next five years after that. His best season of late was 2007-2008, where he racked up 35 goals and 84 points on a team that finished first in the East. Last year was a let down, but he still put up respectable numbers.
I think you either have to love this guy and have no problems defending him, or can't stand him and figure the Habs are better off without him. I went from the former two years ago, to the latter this past year. It's a cliché to call him an enigma, but he really is indeed just that. He can blow your mind one minute by skating past an entire team, yet make you scream 30 seconds later when he coughs up the puck by trying to be too pretty.
There have been rumors in the last few years that he didn't get along with Guy Carbonneau, rumors that he spoke to the Russian media claiming he was unhappy in Montreal, and even was benched by Gainey for two games back in February to regroup. His time had come, and the Habs needed to move on. Whether getting Brian Gionta in return for about the same money was an equal trade is debatable, rumors persist that either Kovalev or his agent dropped the ball when Gainey gave them a chance to sign on July 1.
I wish him luck in Ottawa. I don't doubt he'll do well, especially with Spezza and Alfredsson... not to mention the return Ottawa will get in the upcoming Heatley trade. But one thing is certain, the 2008-2009 Habs were not getting it done nor were a quality representation of what this organization strives to be, thus major changes had to be made. There's no time to look back. Let's give the new guys a chance.
Sorry, Alex. There's no room for you here anymore.
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Kovy rolled the dice on re-signing with the Habs and he eventually lost out. There's no way he can be happy playing with the Sens after he was put up on the throne here in Montreal - both by the fans and the GM. If we're going to clean house, then that means there can't be any exceptions to the rule.
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