Canadiens Rid Selves of Troublesome Kostitsyn
While Sergei Kostitsyn’s underachieving play was problematic enough for the Canadiens this past season, his poor attitude made him even worse of a liability. On Tuesday, the Canadiens finally rid themselves of the locker-room cancer by trading Kostitsyn to the Nasvhille Predators in exchange for a pair of unrestricted free agents, Dan Ellis and Dustin Boyd.
There is also the possibility of a fifth-round pick in the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft being transferred between the two teams conditional on the Canadiens’ ability to sign Ellis and/or Boyd. Regardless of how the trade pans out in the end, Montreal is better off. Kostitsyn is simply not worth the trouble, and had it not been for his brother Andrei being a great player for the Canadiens, he would have been gone a long time ago.
The Canadiens initially selected Sergei in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, due in part to the strength of his brother Andrei, whom they had drafted in 2003. Sergei seemed to thrive during his junior career with the London Knights, where he played on a line with Patrick Kane and Simone Gagne. Montreal finally called up Sergei from their American Hockey League affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs in 2007-08.
Sergei got off to a great start with a plus/minus rating of +9 and nine goals and 18 assists in 52 games. The following season, he kept form and produced a similar eight goals and 15 assists in 58 games. However, the first signs of problematic behaviour began emerging.
First both Kostitsyn brothers were linked to a small-time criminal. Then Sergei missed a team bus taking the Canadiens to Quebec City for an exhibition game. When the team attempted to demote him back to the Bulldogs for the infraction, Sergei refused to attend and general manager Bob Gainey was forced to intervene.
Although his play was solid for the Belarus national team, the right winger was often criticized for his lacklustre efforts on the ice for Montreal. Goalie Carey Price called out Sergei for his lack of passion and head coach Jacques Martin at some point told Kostitsyn not to practice with the team.
The final straw came this off season as Kostitsyn criticized Montreal for trading Jarsolav Halak and Guillaume Latendresse, citing the two trades as examples of the Canadiens not being able to handle players.
While he may settle down and produce for Nashville, it was evident that it was impossible to salvage the relationship between Montreal and Sergei Kostitsyn. Now Montreal must look forward to signing their two soon-to-be unrestricted free agents.
Of the two, Montreal’s best bet is Boyd. The Canadian centre said he was happy to be going to such a strong organization and can be Montreal’s replacement for Dominic Moore. Moore is also set to enter free agency this off-season. He and Boyd possess similar characteristics, but Boyd is younger and cheaper and therefore easier to sign. Last season Boyd made $650,000 compared to Moore’s $1.1 million.
Goaltender Dan Ellis would be a pleasant sign for the Canadiens as well, since they need a No. 2 for Carey Price. However, Ellis will most likely not be content to play second-fiddle, especially after being demoted in favour of Pekka Rinne. Also, Ellis made $2 million last year and the Canadiens would never offer him that sort of money for a backup spot.
The Canadiens’ free agent woes do not end there. Besides Moore and their two new signings, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Paul Mara and Glen Metropolit are all slated to become UFAs at noon tomorrow.
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