Music: {allcanada} KOVALEV REGRETS LEAVING MONTREAL

Monday, March 25, 2013

{allcanada} KOVALEV REGRETS LEAVING MONTREAL

The Monteal Gazette notes Alex Kovalev met reporters at the Bell Centre on Sunday after taking part in a legends' game featuring Canadiens alumni and NHL stars from the 1980s and '90s. He received a warm welcome when he was introduced.

"I liked every second of it," Kovalev said of his time with the Canadiens.

He experienced some ups and downs, but overall "I really enjoyed it."

"At this point, you can say I made a bad decision going to Ottawa instead of staying in Montreal (after the 2008-09 season, where he signed a two-year deal with the Senators as a free agent on July 6, 2009)," he said. "Maybe I would still be playing here."

Kovalev talks about feeling blindsided by how things recently turned out with the Florida Panthers. Read all the quotes.

He also indicates he is considering staying in the game.

"I'm hoping to find a job somewhere in Europe," he said.

He won't go to Russia — where there are "worse (hockey) politics than here," he said.

"I'll just probably go to Switzerland."

He also didn't close the door to other possibilities.

"I'm still kind of recovering from everything happening," he said. "It kind of came by surprise. Sometimes you're ready for certain things and you prepare yourself.

"But when it comes (unexpectedly) it's really hard to swallow and hard to really find yourself and what your next step is and what you're going to do. It's definitely not fun and not enjoyable.

"If I find something that I like outside hockey, I'm probably never going to get involved in hockey. I'll just probably stay away because it's been really tough last four years. And I need to take a break."