Koivu and Kovalev Part Deux

Today the Ottawa Senators signed Alexei Kovalev, the enigmatic winger who spent the last few seasons in Montreal. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. I was also a fan of Kovy, though he was frustrating to watch. Sens fans should be wary; he has the ability to be a game changer, when he wants to, but he also loses interest for long periods of time. I’m guessing most of you already know that.

This isn’t going to be a rant about Kovy. Rather, this is a rant about Habs fans. I hate most Habs fans. Habs fans are generally an obnoxious lot. Habs fans get out of control, behave inappropriately, are mouthy, and just generally not fun to be around. I can tolerate that and sometimes even participate. What bothers me right now is the lack of respect that Saku Koivu has received.

Over the weekend, there was a rally at the Bell Centre with the intention to sway Bob Gainey to re-sign Kovalev. Obviously it didn’t work. Eric Engels, one of my favourite Hab writers/bloggers said "I'd sooner attend a rally for Koivu". So what I really want to know is “where is the rally is for Saku?”

Kovalev spent 4 ½ seasons in Montreal (5 ½ if you count the lockout) and over that span he was arguably the most skilled forward Montreal had. I'm sad to see him go, but I'm also happy. As mentioned ad nauseum, he didn’t quite give his all every night, and certainly wasn’t the best on both sides of the ice. The $5 million he's getting from Ottawa is better spent elsewhere (though I'm not sure it was spent in the most efficient fashion).

Koivu spent his entire NHL career with Montreal; 13 seasons (14 with the lockout) with little support (see Brian Savage, Sergei Berezin, etc.). He showed up for the Habs every night and lead by example. He was great with and without the puck. He came back from a serious eye injury and a battle with cancer. The man is more courageous that Kovalev could ever be. Koivu could have left as a free agent before and chose to stay. He donated countless dollars to cancer research and equipment in the city. He put up with the media’s lack of respect for him with nothing but respect for them. He never said boo when they complained about him not speaking French or when he had that serious eye injury and the stupid photographers were taking flash photos.

Koivu is a man with courage and class. He will be sadly missed and all you Habs fans showing support for a wasted talent like Kovalev rather than Koivu should be ashamed.