The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

The Ottawa Senators add more drama for a team that probably needs a little less of it.

When the press describes 36 year old Alexei Kovalev, they like to use the word "enigmatic" before his name. It isn't really a compliment.

On one hand, you have one of the most talented pro hockey players on the planet.

But on the other, you have a guy where you have no idea if he'll show up to play. Will he take the night off, coast from shift to shift like he's just waiting for the game to be over?

Or will the game-breaker turn up, potting goal after goal and being the go to guy?

Yesterday, some Habs faithful showed up at the Bell Centre, almost like a demonstration, to persuade GM Bob Gainey to re-sign Kovalev to a new contract. Gainey went on the radio today to say they will not re-sign him. So, trying to find some positives in all this, if some fans would turn out asking he be kept a Habitant, he must have something going for him, right?

He could have very easily gone to a non-hockey market and play out his last years off the radar, a complete 180 from the constant scrutiny of the Montreal media.

But, he decided to play in a city where hockey matters. I'm not going to say it's as bad as the Montreal media circus, but the fans care here. And he knows he'll be put under the microscope in both victory and defeat.

And in more positive ways of thinking, he's not getting any younger and he knows his career is coming to a close. I would like to think he wants to play for a contender, and maybe he likes what he sees with the Senators. And despite the tough-on-the-players reputation that coach Cory Clouston seems to have earned with the whole Heatley debacle, he doesn't seem to be concerned to have to play for someone like that.

Kovalev was Montreal's #1 scorer. In Ottawa, that's not really expected of him. Spezza and Alfredsson are probably the ones expected to be the top producers, so maybe not having that pressure will help.

As you can tell, I'm trying to be optimistic about this signing. He might turn out great, or he might turn out to be a phenomenal bust. But whether or not it works out, I'll tell you this much: Never in a million years would I have ever thought I'd say these words again:

"Go, Alexei, go!"