Through my own private Russian scrambler, this is what I heard him musing:
On Summer 2011:
"I guess I should have signed with Florida on Day 1 of free agency..."
"People say I've been banished to Hockey's Siberia. It could have been worse, it could have been Long Island."
On Ottawa:
"I really should take the lion's share of responsibility for the Senators woes. It really had nothing to do with Nick Foligno being on the top line."
On "hard working" NHL players
"If every player worked as hard to learn to skate efficiently as they purportedly do on every shift maybe the enigmas of the NHL wouldn't have to coast just so they could keep up."
"If I came to play every night like Steve Begin, people would still complain. And, I'd have wasted my time and talents..."
On NHL coaching methods:
"Is there anyone other than NHL coaches who thinks benching is a useful teaching tool?"
On tactical excellence:
"Spot the outlier: Defending -- track and chase. Attacking -- dump and chase. Enigmatic play -- hold onto the puck until an opportunity arises."
On increasing scoring:
"Memo to NHL: maybe if you want more goals, the trapezoid isn't the problem. 82 games, 12 serious practices, do the math."
"Memo to Junior hockey: see memo to NHL."
On playoff hockey:
"Why does the NHL feel it has to pander to the Don Cherrys of the hockey world?"
"Why does the NHL change its own rules in the playoffs to the advantage of the unskilled players in the league?"
Kovy's Corner
We know from watching the Montreal years and from the brief flirtation with Russian daily newspapers that Kovalev says entertaining things. One minute he's playing till he's 50, the next he's solving all the NHL's problems.
It sounds like another hockey pundit we know, vastly overpaid by the CBC for his out of date opinions.
Wouldn't it be fun if the CBC ran a second intermission slot called "Kovy's Corner" to juxtapose the views of a 2-game NHL fighter?
