Saku Koivu spent all of his 13 years in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens and become the second-longest serving captain in the team’s history (nine seasons – Jean Beliveau led for 10 years).  Now, he’s been signed by the Anaheim Ducks who offered him a one-year, $3.25 million contract.

image: TSN

I know some people are glad that he’ll get to play with Teemu Selanne.  Many Habs fans had hoped they would become teammates but not with the Ducks, of course.  They worked well together when they helped Finland capture the silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin so hopefully they can turn on the magic again before Selanne retires.  Even Koivu seemed happy with the news.  In a statement he said: “I’m very excited to join the Ducks this coming season.  I’m also looking forward to a full season with Teemu Selanne as a teammate.”

I know that he must be relieved to, at least, be going to a team where he feels he might be welcomed but at the same time, I’m slightly furious with this decision.  Okay, I’m irate.  Koivu knew that his days with the club might be numbered after they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs but there were a million factors that led to that.  Uh, let me think – their coach was fired and replaced by Bob Gainey, their goaltender Carey Price seemed to forget he was on the ice half the time, there was so much pressure to perform during their 100th anniversary and the players knew that the team was being sold.  That’s a lot of stress.  I’m not making excuses but I don’t think the solution was to completely dismantle the team.  Yes, they have a new coach and new owners and they’ve let star players like Alex Kovalev go but do you really think with all of those changes that it is the right time to take the team’s anchor, their captain, away?

When you do too much with a team (Tampa Bay Lightning and the Calgary Flames three seasons ago come to mind) it can lose its identity.  It’s not like Montreal failed to make the playoffs – they just didn’t advance.

I’m from Montreal and I know how much he is loved there.  I also know that he’s had to take a lot of flack from the media and some fans because he doesn’t speak French very well but that’s par for the course in La Belle Province.  When he was diagnosed with intra-abdominal non-Hodgkins lymphoma everyone was so stunned and worried but he pulled through and when he came back to the team, he was greeted by an incredible welcome.  My brother was the national anthem singer that year and I remember how energized the place was.  He got an eight-minute standing ovation.  He even earned a Masterton Trophy that season after showing extreme courage and dedication to his team.

Now, he’s going from being the captain to being on the roster.  He’s going from a city with a huge, overwhelming even, hockey market to a city where I was shocked last summer to discover that most people couldn’t care less about hockey.  I couldn’t find any merchandise at the three, count ‘em THREE, malls I went to and when I did make it to the Ducks store (there’s only one and it’s at the Honda Center) it was closed.  It was daytime!

At least the Ducks seem to know what they have.  General manager Bob Murray made the following statement:  “Saku Koivu’s character and leadership qualities are unquestioned.  He is a skilled playmaker and we are thrilled to add him to our team.”

In 13 NHL seasons, Koivu has dressed for 792 games and has scored 191 goals with 450 assists.  A foot injury limited him to playing only 65 games for the Habs in 2008-09 but he managed to score 16 goals and posted 36 assists.

Koivu is a class act and a well-respected player.  I hope he accomplishes great things over in Anaheim.

Montreal Canadiens general manager, Bob Gainey, has confirmed that Alex Kovalev will not be returning to the Habs lineup.  Many fans are disappointed by the announcement and 100 people even held a rally outside the Bell Centre yesterday.

Gainey told Montreal radio station CJAD that the club did make an offer but the Russian star took too long to consider the deal.  "We hadn’t agreed on the amount, but another player was willing to come and join our team," Gainey said. "So the dollars that we had allotted there for a particular position were grabbed up by another player."

The team’s roster is going to look so different in the coming season.  In addition to losing the winger, captain Saku Koivu believes that he might not be offered a contract, Montreal was busy at the free agency deadline and the team has new owners (and a new coach).

With all their wheeling and dealing, the Habs still have $9 million remaining under the salary cap but they also have four restricted free agents left to sign.

Where do you think Kovalev will go?

***UPDATE*** Kovalev has signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Ottawa Senators.

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The sale of the Montreal Canadiens is being finalized – the new owners are Geoff, Andrew and Justin Molson who will now have ownership over the team as well as the Gillett Entertainment Centre and the Bell Centre.  That’s HUGE especially if you consider the fact that the Molson family first acquired the team back in 1957.  Under their ownership, the club won 11 of their 24 Stanley Cups. 

Of course, it can’t be assumed that the same thing will happen since the team is different and these aren’t the same members of the Molson family but, hopefully, they will be able to turn things around and help the Habs get their winning streak back on track.

Naturally, the NHL will have to approve the transaction but it is possible that everything should be settled by mid-summer.  I would expect them to try to get this all dealt with before the new season starts, at the very least. 

I guess we’ll have to wait until then to find out how this change in ownership affects the roster and management of the team. 

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The Montreal Canadiens have named a new coach in what we can only hope is a sign that things are starting to settle down for the club.  Jacques Martin is the new head coach, marking his fourth NHL coaching gig (he’s been with the Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues and the Ottawa Senators).  In a related announcement, it was revealed that goaltending coach Roland Melanson would not be returning next year.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to join this organization,” Martin said. “When you look at the players who are in the organization, there is a strong nucleus, a strong base, to build a winning team and I’m really looking forward with excitement to leading this team next year.”

I didn’t realize this until I did a little research but this is the first time in 16 years that the Habs have found a head coach with NHL experience (all of the others have been newbies, including Mario Tremblay, Alain Vigneault, Michel Therrien, Claude Julien and Guy Carbonneau).

I’m not a huge fan of GM Bob Gainey but, for once, I think he’s put his priorities in the right place.  I’m not sure Martin is the best guy for the job but at least he’s had some experience coaching NHL teams which, I think, is pretty important.  Just four more months until the season starts again!

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Guy Lafleur has been found guilty of providing contradictory evidence at the bail hearing of his son, Mark Lafleur.  I’m not surprised (I’ve called him an enabler in the past) but I’m definitely saddened.  I know that Guy loves his son but I think the best thing he could have done would have been to let Mark face the consequences of his actions.

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Mark Lafleur was facing a number of serious charges and, while he was awaiting trial, he had to abide by a court-ordered curfew.  Guy agreed to make sure his son followed the rules but then it was revealed that he had driven Mark to a hotel to meet with his underage girlfriend on more than one occasion.

Now, the former Montreal Canadiens superstar will have to wait until June 8, 2009 to find out about his sentence.  The Crown is asking that Lafleur be given a conditional sentence while the defence is seeking a simple fine but the maximum prison sentence for this crime is 14 years.

Injuries for important players plagued the Montreal Canadiens at the end of the season and probably played a major role in their early exit from the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Forwards, Alex Tanguay and Max Pacioretty, have already undergone successful surgeries and winger, Sergei Kostitsyn, will go under the knife today.

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As a huge fan of Tanguay’s, I’m thrilled that his arthroscopic procedure might have solved his lingering shoulder problem.  He becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2009 but he has expressed his desire to remain with the Habs.  I hope it works out because I think he’s a valuable player if he stays healthy.

Pacioretty had an abdominal wall muscle repaired on Wednesday while Kostisyn is to undergo arthroscopic surgery on a shoulder.

They are all expected to be well enough to participate in training camp this September.

I never thought I would type those words but Montreal Canadiens captain, Saku Koivu, doesn’t know if he will be returning to the team.  This comes after 14 seasons with the Habs. 

Koivu will become an unrestricted free agency (along with nine of his teammates) on July 1, 2009 but contract negotiations have not been initiated.  "If I’m not signed by July 1, I don’t think I’ll be back in Montreal," Koivu said. "Finishing your career with one team would be awesome in a way, but it’s too early to say because I don’t know what the team’s plan is. We lost yesterday, so I need time to sit down with my family and figure out what’s best for us."

"There’s a lot of question marks right now, so I have to get away from the game for a while before making a decision," said Koivu. "It would probably be a pretty interesting and exciting morning to wake up on July 1 and see what the offers are and which teams would be there."

I guess that means Koivu is also considering leaving the team.  I don’t blame him after that embarrassing playoff loss and the uncertainty of the team’s future.

Depending on what happens, the roster could look very different at the start of next season.  With the team possibly up for sale and a new coach on the horizon, the Habs could reinvent themselves but I’m hoping it won’t go the same way as the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Here’s a list of the players who will become free agents:

• Alex Kovalev
• Alex Tanguay
• Robert Lang
• Tom Kostopoulos
• Mike Komisarek
• Mathieu Schneider
• Francis Bouillon
• Patrice Brisebois
• Mathieu Dandenault

There are some big names on this list so I hope the Habs don’t wait too long to make a decision.  Lang, Tanguay and Schneider have all expressed a desire to return to Montreal and I think these players, along with Koivu, are completely worth signing.

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The playoffs are over for the Montreal Canadiens who are celebrating their 100th anniversary season this year.  Sadly, they were swept by long-time rivals, the Boston Bruins, in an humiliating 4-1 elimination.  At least the fans didn’t embarrass themselves this time by booing the American national anthem.

It looks even worse when you consider the combined scores from the series – Boston outscored the Habs 17-6.  To add even more insult to injury, Michael Ryder, who was dealt away by Montreal, registered a hat trick in the victory for Boston. 

Andrei Kostitsyn was the only player to score for the Habs after receiving a pass from captain, Saku Koivu, just 39 seconds into the game.

Montreal’s fans might have been respectful during the anthems but they didn’t hold back the booing when it came to their team.  They let goaltender, Carey Price, know exactly how they felt about his performance during the series and they even pretended to cheer when he stopped a dump-in from the red line by Mark Recchi.  Mirroring the actions of the legendary Patrick Roy (who demanded the team trade him in 1995-1996), Price raised his arms in reaction to the fans.

It has been a tough season for the Canadiens.  They’ve been plagued with injuries, coach Guy Carbonneau, they are rumored to be up for sale and then there’s been the pressure of this being their centennial celebration.  I’m not making excuses but it is a lot for a team.

Now that it’s all over, I can really express my disgust with some of the choices the made by the club.  First of all, there’s NO WAY they should have fired Guy Carbonneau.  So stupid.  Secondly, replacing him with Bob Gainey was just lame.  Why would you do that so close to the end of the season?  Third (and it’s a big third), why the hell did they leave Price between the pipes?  It was clear that the guy was flaking out, why not give Jaroslav Halak a chance?  Look at the success of Jonas Hiller (ANA) and Simeon Varlamov (WSH)!

Well, at least Montreal can say that they lost to a great team with an excellent record this year.  Good luck to Boston in the next round (and to Montreal, who clearly needs to make some changes during the off-season).

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Before I start my recap, I’d like to take care of one piece of business.   The Montreal Canadiens fans booed the American national anthem at the Bell Centre last night and I just want to voice my disappointment.  Go ahead and boo the Boston Bruins – they’re your opponent and they’re kicking your a$$ – but don’t disrespect an entire nation.  It shows an extraordinary lack of class and really has no place in an NHL arena, especially during the playoffs.

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Things seemed to start off well for the Habs – their energy was high and they were getting a lot of support from the stands.  The game was tied until, late in the second period, former Hab, Michael Ryder, brought the score up to 3-2 for the Bruins.  Out of desperation, Montreal pulled goaltender, Carey Price, to get an extra attacker but the decision went wrong when Chuck Kobasew put the puck into the empty net.

I don’t know what interim coach, Bob Gainey, is going to do but I think it’s time to pull Carey Price and possibly try Jaroslav Halak between the pipes for Game 4.  I’m actually disappointed that Halak didn’t start in last night’s game but what do I know?

The first two periods of last night’s game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens started out pretty intense.  Boston immediately took a lead in the 1st, with two goals by Phil Kessel which were answered by Montreal’s Chris HIggins and Alex Kovalev.  The Bruins left their rivals in the dust, however, with goals by David Krejci and Zdeno Chara in the final 20 minutes and took the series lead (1-0).

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There were a couple goals that I know Habs goaltender, Carey Price, would love to have back since he seemed to lose his edge late in the game.  He did, however, save 35 shots on goal while his Bruins counterpart, Tim Thomas, had to save only 26.  Interim Montreal coach, Bob Gainey, needs to have a talk with his defencemen, I think…