Senators Sign Kovalev
Alex Kovalev signed a two-year, $10 million deal Monday with the Ottawa Senators, leaving the rival Montreal Canadiens after parts of five seasons. Kovalev, a 16-season NHL veteran, led Montreal with 26 goals and 65 points last season. He earned $4.5 million last season and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
"All I know is when I coached or watched our team play in the last couple of years against Montreal, every time he came on the ice, I was scared to death he was going to be the difference in the game," General Manager Bryan Murray told the media earlier today. "Some nights, he certainly was."
"I think he's one of the most entertaining players in the league and I hope our fans are real excited about this," he said. "I know our management team and coaches are very, very happy and the players I've talked to think it's a great, great move for this organization."
"When he plays great, he can win a game for you," said Murray. "In this organization, we've got many hard workers, good workers that will compete for us every single night. But we needed something special to go with that and this guy is a special player in that he's got the ability to make players around him better.
"He's one of the most exciting players in the league. Talking to a couple of our players, they feel that this guy will step in and really help us a great deal."