Kovalev not interested in returning to Montreal,

[brobin]

You people don't seem to understand how to manage people. Money only goes so far. I have lots of highly paid employees who respond far better to my giving them encouragement, or putting them on a key project, then they respond to a raise.

If I took a senior designer from my team and made him bind the documents, why would I expect him to be happy? He would be pissed at me and looking for a new job where he was appreciated. Pointing out that I was still paying him a full salary would just piss him off more.

Kovelev has an ego and it is Carbo's job to understand how to manipulate it to get the most out of him. Kids are just happy to play. Vets want to be treated with respect and surrounded with players they work well with.

Carbo has consistently pissed off the vets because he doesn't listen, he doesn't communicate, and he doesn't take the time to figure out what motivates him.

The best example I can give is Jagr. He was considered a waste of talent in Washington, much like Kovalev is here. A whiner who didn't earn his paycheck.

The Rangers new management went to him and talked. They asked him what he needed to perform better. Which players they should bring in to complement his style. They made him feel like he was involved and had some skin in the game. His turn around (and the Rangers) was significant.

Its time for Carbo to show that he is a good manager of people. Good coaches know who to yell at, who to stroke, who to bench, and who to keep putting out there until they work through their slump. In my view, Carbo didn't have a clue this year and alienated most of the vets. Even Koivu has made some noise this year when he usually doesn't say anything negative.

I definitely want Kovalev to do his part, but it will start when he is handled properly.

If every vet who goes into a slump in Montreal stays in a slump (and I have yet to see Carbo get someone out of a slump), this team will continue to struggle, both on the ice, and in the free agent market.

[shortcat1]

Kovalev gave an interview with one of the local French players in which he said that he doesn't want to come back unless there are changes on the team.

Don't let the DOOR HIT YOUR ASS, ALEX!!!

i'm ambivalent on this one...

on the one hand, to throw out the most talented player reeks of rotten stupidity...

yet, on the other hand, to throw out someone who costs so much and produces so little and is also the source of a bunch of crises seems like a reasonable thing to do... (think Ribeiro...)

so............. i'm glad i'm not bob gainey...

GO :hlogo: GO!

[KoZed]

It's kind of funny how the vets, core are complaining about Carbo. Why, I think i have a reason because for years they were allowed to get away with lazy, half a$$ed efforts and the only consequence was the coaches getting fired. The players always got a pass. Even the fans, media and posters here gave all the players passes.

Bang on.

Players stayed while coaches passed and the vets started thinking they were more important than the bench boss. Now they've got a coach who will bench or scratch anyone who doesn't pull his weight. The only communication skill lacking here is the vet's ability to LISTEN!

[MAK]

You people don't seem to understand how to manage people. Money only goes so far. I have lots of highly paid employees who respond far better to my giving them encouragement, or putting them on a key project, then they respond to a raise.

If I took a senior designer from my team and made him bind the documents, why would I expect him to be happy? He would be pissed at me and looking for a new job where he was appreciated. Pointing out that I was still paying him a full salary would just piss him off more.

If that-said senior designer was an empty suit every time he came to work. day in day out he did the same designs without giving a proper effort. lets say you tried to give him the tools he wnated to be the best, yet he still complained and underachieved . why, as a manager, would you waste too much time on him ??

[Partisan]

Yesterday on Au-dessus de la mélée Radio-canada sport show they said that the canadians deny that there was a meeting with Gainey and Kovy.

[KoZed]

If that-said senior designer was an empty suit every time he came to work. day in day out he did the same designs without giving a proper effort. lets say you tried to give him the tools he wnated to be the best, yet he still complained and underachieved . why, as a manager, would you waste too much time on him ??

Or if he said: "Well, I might be lazy now, but when comes the year-end reports you'll see, I'll start working then! " but his laziness put the company bankrupt before they even got to the end of the year...

[Mont Royale]

Yesterday on Au-dessus de la mélée Radio-canada sport show they said that the canadians deny that there was a meeting with Gainey and Kovy.

The damage-control machine swings into motion... again!

Actually, I thought that Gainey mentioned talking with Kovalev in his end of year press conference.

[brobin]

If that-said senior designer was an empty suit every time he came to work. day in day out he did the same designs without giving a proper effort. lets say you tried to give him the tools he wnated to be the best, yet he still complained and underachieved . why, as a manager, would you waste too much time on him ??

My job is to find out why and see if we can fix it. We are talking about a designer (player) who can perform at a high level.

The issue I see is that the players are complaining about the lack of communication. So if Carbo is not talking to them, he is not managing them. If we spent the time and worked with the player and it wasn't working, then you fire them. But you don't fire an employee who was working well for you previously without finding out why they are no longer motivated.

I have had that scenario before and my discussions turned a guy completely around after a couple of months. He is now considered our top guy because we didn't give up on him, but worked with him to find out why he was in a malaise and fix it.

Trust me, I could make the most motivated and talented designer look like shit and get him fired. I could use him in ways that he can't show his talent (stick him on a struggling line), not talk to him, punish him when he gets frustrated, then when he performs even worse, use it as evidence that I was right all the time. I have seen in done to people by bad managers who don't like a designer (for whatever reason).

[Mont Royale]

Or if he said: "Well, I might be lazy now, but when comes the year-end reports you'll see, I'll start working then! " but his laziness put the company bankrupt before they even got to the end of the year...

There's no question that Kovalev has to shoulder much of the blame.

But, brobin makes an excellent (and easily verified) point about salary not being motivational in itself, among others. We've also seen Carbo admit his communication in the Samsonov saga was partly to blame. It's too easy to say it's all Samsonov and Kovalev's fault, when both have performed at higher levels in the past. They both are at fault to a point - no question - but I don't think anybody knows to what degree.

I wonder if it's coincidence that Carbo's had the most difficulty with Russians (or them with him). If Kovalev's first Russian interview is to be believed, he has that perception. I don't believe Carbonneau dislikes Russians or anything like that, but I think it's possible that a rookie coach might be uneasy in dealing with established Russian stars who were underperforming, and lack of communication was the result.

[brobin]

Or if he said: "Well, I might be lazy now, but when comes the year-end reports you'll see, I'll start working then! " but his laziness put the company bankrupt before they even got to the end of the year...

How would you know if you didn't talk to the guy to find out why he was being lazy.... ? Maybe that was his attitude. Maybe he was struggling because he had a winger who was unhappy and a center who was just learning. Maybe he was upset that they didn't get him a better center when they got rid of Ribs. Maybe he was upset that he didn't get a chance with Koivu. Who knows. The only way you find out is by talking.

Rivet, Ribs, Kovalev, Sammy, and even CARBO have publicly stated that their are communication issues. Carbo has admitted several times this year that he was not doing a good job communication with his vets...

[Chris]

When has Kovalev played well for the Habs other then selected games? He certainly hasn't earned his money. Your obviously one of the posters i mentioned about always giving the players a pass.

Well Carbo isn't that kind of coach and I for one am glad to see it. Call them out, sit them out, move them on, whatever, i'm fine with it.

What makes coaches like keenan, Sutter, Bowman, Nolan etc great, it's there no nonsense approaches. You perform or you sit.

When has 47 points and minus 19 or something worth 4.5 million?

[JoeLassister]

Just by not leting Kovy plays with Koivu, Carbo wanted to spread talent on differents lines but he ruined Kovalev season. And trading Ribeiro and not getting an offensive center in return also hurt Kovy's season.

Plex showed up too late, le mal avait déjà été fait.

[mineral]

Very well said, Brobin.

[saskhab]

When has Kovalev played well for the Habs other then selected games? He certainly hasn't earned his money. Your obviously one of the posters i mentioned about always giving the players a pass.

Well Carbo isn't that kind of coach and I for one am glad to see it. Call them out, sit them out, move them on, whatever, i'm fine with it.

What makes coaches like keenan, Sutter, Bowman, Nolan etc great, it's there no nonsense approaches. You perform or you sit.

When has 47 points and minus 19 or something worth 4.5 million?

But he did have 65 points in 69 games the season before. Gainey and him appear to work well with each other.

Carbo and Kovalev don't have to be best friends, but they have to respect each other. This is an issue that needs to, and can be resolved.

While Carbo's eventual decisions may have been viewed as "overdue", the players may not have seen them coming. Carbo kept playing Samsonov and Kovalev on the second line and instead of demanding more out of them when they were underpreforming, he decided to ride it out in hopes that the problem would resolve itself. When the team started to lose, they took the brunt of the blame. So it wasn't a problem when they were winning, but when their play didn't decline but the team started to lose it was a problem. That's a coaching error. A coach needs to constantly be trying to solve problems in the team's play. The players didn't take it well. They didn't feel it was deserved because they had performed as they had for the previous 3 months and the team had been succeeding.

This past season was a series of overreactions. The Samsonov signing was a knee-jerk reaction to losing Shanahan. The Ribeiro/Niinimaa trade was a knee-jerk reaction to pre-season issues. Samsonov demanding a trade 10 games into the season was a massive knee-jerk reaction. The mid-season benchings were an overreaction to problems that could've been dealt with weeks in advance. Kovalev's complaints to Russian media (how many are true) are definite overreactions. Roy's Latendresse fued was an overreaction that got pushed into the organization. Lafleur's comments throughout the year were ridiculous.

It's a cycle that needs to be escaped.

[simonus]

after some time to think:

I guess if it is plausible that 1 russian interview is bunk, it is possible that 2 russian interviews are bunk; but I am losing my belief in Kovalev. I have to say, though: the interview sounds like Kovalev.

I agree with Kovalev that insofar as Carbo stubbornly stuck to the Sammy-Plek-Kovalev line, Kovalev was not put in a position to succeed. I wish that Kovalev would give an open interview to a north american journalist rather than only speaking out in Russian mags.

If kovalev has something to say about the Canadiens, let him say it here. If he has reasonable complaints about the Canadiens organization (and I'm sure that there are areas in which the Tricolore is not perfect) then let it be said.

I don't see the point in slamming the Canadiens from across the pond and denying it here (if this is the case). How is this good for Kovalev? Kovalev needs to sit with some reputable reporter and give a frank and honest interview. If he doesn't like Brunet, Boone, Hickey, or even P.J. Stock so be it, but let him go talk to somebody - go to the US and talk to Buccigross or Burnside or McGuire... I bet ESPN.com would love to throw up an interview between Kovalev and Jeremy Roenick (who appears ever closer to working for the worldwide leader).

The Russian interview scandals are not the fault of the montreal media. This is news, not some Quebecois invented controversy. Regardless of where the blame lies, Kovalev needs to do some PR.

Kovalev, in the end, did not have a good season. Ironically, he probably played some of his better games from the 4th line. Carbo definitely needs to make adjustments in his coaching style (I must admit I am relieved that he seems to have cooled off from his original strategy of constantly yelling at the refs) and I think most on this board would agree that Gainey needs to recompose the team for the upcoming season. It is not horrendous for Kovalev to say this and it is not horrendous for Kovalev to say that he is interested in playing for a team that did not have the congenital defects of the 2006-07 habs. I hope that is what he meant, but he better come out and explain himself. If he is being misquoted, explain what he meant to say. If he is being taken out of context, please give me the context. If he wishes to amend his prior testimony, so be it. But please don't leave me with this image of you AK. I have been your fan for a long time and I want to like you - don't make it too difficult.

[JMMR]

Guys Kovalev was not given a chance to put up big numbers this year no Canadiens forwards were.

The highest Canadiens forward in avg. ice time per game was Kovalev and he was ranked around 75th overall and 90th even strength (Grabovski was higher but only played 3 games). This is not house league hockey better players need more ice time. Do you think Lecavalier would have scored 50 goals if he played 3 less minutes per game? He simply would not. What I really hope is that the Habs do not have a "checking line next year" because having Bonk and Johnson play 30 seconds less than Kovalev on even strength is just ridiculous. Top players need to play top minutes to produce.

I am not saying that Kovalev had a bad season but Brobin is correct it is Carbonneau's job to find the right situation for the team to win and the best players to be playing well.

[dark_faerie87]

Guys Kovalev was not given a chance to put up big numbers this year no Canadiens forwards were.

The highest Canadiens forward in avg. ice time per game was Kovalev and he was ranked around 75th overall and 90th even strength (Grabovski was higher but only played 3 games). This is not house league hockey better players need more ice time. Do you think Lecavalier would have scored 50 goals if he played 3 less minutes per game? He simply would not. What I really hope is that the Habs do not have a "checking line next year" because having Bonk and Johnson play 30 seconds less than Kovalev on even strength is just ridiculous. Top players need to play top minutes to produce.

I am not saying that Kovalev had a bad season but Brobin is correct it is Carbonneau's job to find the right situation for the team to win and the best players to be playing well.

I'm curious as to how icetime was allocated to the Buffalo forwards this season. How much did Drury and Briere get for example?

[JMMR]

Well Drury only had 69 points this season becuase of the more limited ice. Briere played a minute more than Kovlev per game, a minute more evenstrength and 45 seconds more on the power play.

Over the season Briere played about 250 more minutes than Kovalev.

[simonus]

briere got 19:18 (48th among forwards)

drury got 18:46 (62nd)

Kovalev got 18:14 (83rd)

Koivu got 18:06 (87th)

[habs rule]

And another reference to Carbonneau's communication abilities (or lack thereof). Although he seems comfortable with the kids, it seems he doesn't know how to handle the established stars.

Hopefully both Kovalev and Carbonneau bounce back next year...

As has been stated by many on this forum the veteran core is a problem for Montreal They are not leading and mostly they had bad seasons. So it's the coach's fault? Maybe this little prima donna and that other pkrhd sammy should have listened to Carbo and followed what he said instead of pouting and insisting on playing their own game without regard to what is best for the TEAM.

[habs rule]

But he did have 65 points in 69 games the season before. Gainey and him appear to work well with each other.

Carbo and Kovalev don't have to be best friends, but they have to respect each other. This is an issue that needs to, and can be resolved.

While Carbo's eventual decisions may have been viewed as "overdue", the players may not have seen them coming. Carbo kept playing Samsonov and Kovalev on the second line and instead of demanding more out of them when they were underpreforming, he decided to ride it out in hopes that the problem would resolve itself. When the team started to lose, they took the brunt of the blame. So it wasn't a problem when they were winning, but when their play didn't decline but the team started to lose it was a problem. That's a coaching error. A coach needs to constantly be trying to solve problems in the team's play. The players didn't take it well. They didn't feel it was deserved because they had performed as they had for the previous 3 months and the team had been succeeding.

This past season was a series of overreactions. The Samsonov signing was a knee-jerk reaction to losing Shanahan. The Ribeiro/Niinimaa trade was a knee-jerk reaction to pre-season issues. Samsonov demanding a trade 10 games into the season was a massive knee-jerk reaction. The mid-season benchings were an overreaction to problems that could've been dealt with weeks in advance. Kovalev's complaints to Russian media (how many are true) are definite overreactions. Roy's Latendresse fued was an overreaction that got pushed into the organization. Lafleur's comments throughout the year were ridiculous.

It's a cycle that needs to be escaped.

Sorry but knee jerk and Bob Gainey do not belong in the same sentence paragraph or book . Bob is one of the most thoughtful and intelligent gms in the game. He does not make snap decisions.

[habs rule]

At some point the core of this team, has got take responsibilty for not getting the job done. Kovalev has more talent in one hand than 90% of the league. the trouble is he has no desire to show it on a consistent basis. The best he has ever done for us is 1 pt per game avg and this is worth 4.5 million? we have been waiting for 3 years for this guy to show what he can do. He has been (good term for him) a complete disappointment here and every other place he has been. STOP WHINING AND PLAY THE DAMN GAME WITH THE SKILL AND TALENT YOU HAVE PKRHD.

Edited April 26, 2007 by habs rule

[JMMR]

Actually if he could produce at 1 point per game that would be incredible value for 4.5 million. Just look at comparable UFA signings in that same range.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Coaching problems a-plenty this season, from the much-debated failure to consistently use a two-man forecheck to the much-lamented 'failure to communicate.' Think about it...Carbonneau alienated ultimate team player Craig Rivet, for God's sake.

Carbo is too intelligent not to learn from his mistakes. On the other hand, he may also have the same sense that most of us do - that the 'veteran core' of this team is simply not good enough, either due to declining skills (Rivet) or emotional instability (Samsonov and Kovalev). His failure to communicate may flow from an unease, a sense that these guys are ultimately losers, and that he's better off directing his energies to the young guys. Otherwise put, Carbo may have been trying to set the stage for a change in the leadership of this team, where the Komisareks and Higginses and Plekanecs and Latendresses are the ones stepping up. And he may not have been tactful enough about it.

In any case one thing is for sure - Kovalev should have addressed these matters in-house and not crapped all over the organization in public.

[JMMR]

All kovalev said is that he was not happy with his role this season finishing playing with 2 rookies on the 4th line is really not fair for him and if you want him to produce you have to play him. I have no problem with what he said. He never said he did not want to be back he just said he wants to be a allowed to lead the team.