Thursday, October 22, 2009

Nothing but trouble.

So the Sergei Kostitsyn saga continues.

After being assigned to the AHL before the NHL season began, Kostitsyn had a hissy fit and said he wanted a trade. Bob Gainey stepped in with an intervention and the younger Kostitsyn brother decided to go where he was told. He played five games for the Canadiens affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.


Then he decided again this week that, nope he didn't want to play in Hamilton.


So he packed up his gear and went dark. Nobody could find the kid. The rumour mill had it that Kostitsyn was entertaining at least three offers from KHL clubs.


However TSN is reporting Bob Gainey had a second intervention last night, and Kostitsyn has rejoined the club.

Why?

Why keep forcing him back. He is clearly not dedicated to the team. It's a bad precedent to set. And with all the work the Canadiens have done to remove the tumultuous environment within the dressing room, this puts them many steps back.


Let. Him. Go. Who cares if he goes to the KHL? He's clearly not doing the Canadiens much good on the ice, if he's in the AHL. And his diva behaviour is a distraction the team does not need.
Last season, it was the Russian-Montreal mob... now it's fights and missing the bus.

Backstory from TSN.ca:


"A French-language MSN article posted Wednesday reports that a physical altercation between Montreal Canadiens players Scott Gomez and Sergei Kostitsyn during the preseason was a motivating factor that contributed to the younger Kostitsyn being assigned to the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.
The report, written by Mario Langlois, says that the incident took place just prior to Montreal's season-opening game in Toronto on Oct. 1, as the club was preparing to depart for a team-building excursion in Caledon, ON. Before leaving, the team went out for a night on the town and returned to Gomez's house. At some point in the evening, Gomez and Kostitsyn got into an altercation that was serious enough that other players had to jump in and separate them.
General manager Bob Gainey and head coach Jacques Martin were notified about it the next day and according to the report, Gainey didn't want another off-ice distraction like the many that the team dealt with last season. As a result, Kostitsyn was sent to the minors prior to the team's departure for Caledon.
Earlier last month, Kostitsyn missed a team bus during Montreal's preseason game in Quebec City. At one specific practice, the forward was blasted a couple of times by Martin for not paying attention."

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