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Yes, GM Bob Gainey has stepped in and has told Kovalev he needn’t bother accompanying the team on this road trip. Is Bob Gainey merely sending a stern message to the underperforming Russian star, or is there a deeper meaning behind making Kovalev a healthy scratch at a time when the Canadiens are struggling to keep their tentative grasp on a playoff spot.

There is some speculation in media circles that Kovalev may have played his final game in a Montreal Canadiens jersey and that Gainey may be working the phones in an effort to ship Kovalev off to the highest bidder.

Whatever the truth of the matter the fact remains that Kovalev has certainly been a disappointment this season, and if the Canadiens slip out of the playoff race Kovalev’s lack of production will be a major reason why. In a hockey-mad city like Montreal the pressure on Gainey in any given year is tremendous, but this season, with the fabled club celebrating its 100th anniversary it is even more extreme. If the Canadiens were to miss the playoffs it would be nothing short of disastrous. Gainey cannot afford the luxury of allowing Kovalev to float through the rest of the season, and he has made a gutsy move to try and jumpstart his team.

If the trade rumors are false and we do see Kovalev in a Canadiens jersey again it will be interesting to see what sort of effect the benching will have on him. Will he be motivated to prove Gainey wrong, or will he sulk while his play deteriorates even further. Anything is possible with the enigmatic Russian, and the fate of the Canadiens may just rest on Alexei Kovalev’s response to Gainey’s experiment.
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The Canadiens have been in free fall as of late, getting beat up on their recent Western Conference road swing. A couple of short weeks ago their focus was on securing 4th place in the Eastern Conference to ensure home ice advantage in the first round. Now they are trying to avoid a complete meltdown that would see them slide out of the playoffs altogether. The pressure is even more intense than usual in the city of Montreal as this is the team’s 100 year anniversary, and coming into the season hopes were high that this team could challenge for the Stanley Cup. A rash of injuries to off-season acquisitions like Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang have had noticeable impact on the team’s performance, but perhaps the biggest reason the team has underperformed this season has been the anemic play of the super-skilled Alexei Kovalev. Kovalev had a breakout year last year, but only has 39 points in 57 games this year.

Whatever the reason for the Canadiens meltdown it was abundantly clear that changes had to be made, and that is why fans will see Mathieu Schneider in a Canadiens jersey when the Habs face the powerful Washington Capitals this Wednesday.

As effective as Schneider can be you have to believe that this won’t be the last move Montreal Canadiens’ GM Bob Gainey makes leading up to this year’s NHL trade deadline. They might not make a blockbuster deal of the magnitude of bringing in Vincent Lecavalier or Jay Bouwmeester, but look for the team’s roster to look different than today when the playoffs open in April.

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The Barber Shop Canadiens jersey is just the latest in a string of classic Canadiens jerseys worn by the Habs this year in celebration of their 100th season. Hopefully the vintage jersey will inspire them to win an important divisional game against the high-flying Boston Bruins.

Get yourself an authentic Canadiens 1912-1913 Barber Shop Jersey now!

Montreal Canadiens Centennial 1912-13 Rbk Authentic NHL Hockey Jersey Part of the Habs Centennial collection, this jersey (often referred to as the *barber shop* jersey) commemorates the team’s 1912-1913 season. Features: - Ultrafil® 100% polyester double knit (6100 pro-weight version) - Reinforced stitching on shoulders and armholes - Chest crest on pro tackle twill with embroidery sewn directly to jersey - 100 Seasons Centennial commemorative embroidered patch sewn to right shoulder - NHL Shield embroidered patch at front neck - Reebok® vector embroidered logo on back neck - Fight strap sewn to back inside of jersey *Customize this jersey with authentic pro-stitched lettering and numbers!

However, Vincent Lecavalier isn’t the only one rumored to soon be donning a Canadiens jersey. Another All-Star defenseman - Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs - has also been mentioned in trade rumors, and more and more speculators in mainstream media are mumbling about the possibility of this move happening.

Strangely, Vincent Lecavalier’s name is also attached to this particular hockey trade rumor. NHL’s own All-Star defenseman, Andrei Markov, has been mentioned more than once as potential trade bait for Lecavalier, and should the Canadiens decide to deal him they would naturally need to fill the gap left on the blueline by the departure of that talented puck-moving defenseman. Tomas Kaberle could potentially slide into that role, and this natural fit has been adding more fuel to the trade fires.

Now it may sound like a stretch for all this to occur and for Habs fans to see Kaberle in a Canadiens jersey before the NHL trade deadline has come and gone, but stranger things have certainly happened. These days, with the salary cap in the NHL, trades have become a rarity, and a straight player for player trade is not always possible due to the finances involved. I suspect we will see more of these types of deals where players are acquired from multiple teams to make both the hockey aspect and the financial aspect make sense for all teams involved.

So will we see Kaberle in a Canadiens jersey this year? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, Toronto is building for the future and Kaberle is most certainly on the trading block. Habs fans might not be anxious to see a hated Maple Leaf come to Montreal, but if he can bring Lecavalier with him I’m sure even that bitter rivalry can be forgiven.
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This time, however, there appears to be a little more smoke than usual that we could see Lecavalier in a Montreal Canadiens jersey before this year’s trade deadline, and while that does not necessarily mean fire, no one appears to be denying the rumors outright to this point.

The media in Montreal has jumped all over these rumors, and there has been much speculation by fans and media alike as to which players are being dangled as bait to try and make Vincent Lecavalier a Montreal Canadien. Several sources have reported that Thomas Plekanec, Christropher Higgins, Josh Jorges, and prospect P.K. Subban are being offered along with draft picks. If that is true that is a pretty steep price to pay, even taking into account Lecavalier’s superstar abilities. Plekanec might not be on pace to match the 69 points he had last year, but he is still an offensive threat, and is arguably the Montreal Canadiens’ best penalty killing forward. Christopher Higgins has scored 20+ goals in the past three seasons, and only injury woes have prevented him from being on a similar pace this season. Josh Jorges is coming into his own as an NHL caliber defenseman, and currently leads the Canadiens in plus/minus with a sparkling +16 rating. P.K. Subban is one of the Canadiens’ best young prospects and was outstanding at the recent World Junior Hockey Championships held in Ottawa.

All 4 of these players are 26 years of age or younger, and each potentially has many years ahead of them in a Montreal Canadiens jersey. On the other hand, Vincent Lecavalier is one of the NHL’s very few true superstars, and he already has a Stanley Cup ring to his credit. He is a native son of Montreal, and it has been almost three decades since the Canadiens boasted a French Canadian superstar (Guy Lafleur) at the forward position. It is an old adage that the team who gets the best player wins the trade, and there is no question Lecavalier would be the best player in this deal. However, in this new NHL it is the teams that have the greatest depth who have had the greatest success over the past few years. So, will the Canadiens be sacrificing too much of their depth to put Vincent Lecavalier in a Canadiens jersey?

The question, in the end, may very well be moot. The likelihood of such a blockbuster deal actually coming to fruition is slim. Still, in these days where salary cap issues handcuff NHL General Managers, we the fans rarely get to see a major trade any more, so when these juicy rumors surface we have to milk them for all they are worth.

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The Sundin saga dragged on through the fall, and then into the winter. Multiple teams were rumored to be in the sweepstakes for the big Swede’s services, but slowly the field was narrowed down to just three a few short weeks ago.

Strangely, despite the fact that everyone in Montreal had dismissed the notion of ever seeing Mats Sundin in a Canadiens jersey, the Habs again were in contention as one of the teams Mats had on his radar. There was elation in the streets of Montreal, and again everyone’s hopes were sky high.

Time for the roller coaster to take another dive. The Montreal Canadiens have again been eliminated from contention in this increasingly bizarre competition. Mats Sundin has now narrowed down his choices to a mere two: The Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers. The Rangers are rumored to be the front-runners, but only Vancouver has the current financial wherewithal to sign Sundin.

Sundin is still taking his time, but has promised to make his decision known before Christmas. Too bad for Habs fans though. Seeing Mats Sundin in a Montreal Canadiens jersey would have been the ultimate Christmas present.

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