Ottawa Senators acquire Kovalev

Given the fact that the Ottawa Senators are coming off a fairly disappointing season it is no surprise that the franchise management is trying to improve their roster over the summer. In 2008-09 the Senators finished 11^th in the Eastern Conference with a 36-35-11 record and thus missed the playoffs.

Today, Ottawa announced that they were able to sign veteran right wing forward Alex Kovalev for the next two years. According to sources close to the Senators front office the deal is worth roughly $10 million. Kovalev has been playing in the NHL since 1991 and has proven countless times that he can be an impact player on a consistent basis. During the past five years he played for the Canadiens and finished 2008-09 with 26 goals and 39 assists for a total of 65 points. In his 16 years in the league he played for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. The Russian veteran appeared in 1154 NHL games and scored 394 goals as well as 547 assists for an impressive career total of 941 points. Likewise, Kovalev is a tough player who does not mind physical contact and collected over 1200 penalty minutes in his career. But even more importantly, the Senators franchise believes that his veteran presence and winner mentality will be invaluable on and off the ice. In 1994, Alex Kovalev helped the New York Rangers to win their first Stanley Cup in over fifty years. Moreover, he appeared in three NHL All-Star games and managed to win Olympic gold back in 1992.

While it remains questionable whether Kovalev alone will be enough to make the Senators playoff worthy again, there is no doubt that he will improve the team’s offense significantly. Considering that the Senators plan on picking up a few more players through free agency, they could very well be found among the top teams in the Eastern Conference in 2009-10.

You can watch all games of the Ottawa Senators right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of live NHL streaming.