Kovalev hangs 'em up

[chippa13 1844]

Kovalev's hands retired from hockey today, following his heart which left the game years earlier.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=456359

[psh 25]

It's been said over and over, but it is just inconceivable that a guy with that size and that ability only had 3 seasons with 30 or more goals. Mind boggling.

This is one of his great moments, if you ask me. I wish we had seen more of that from him. You'd think even Darcy Tucker would be embarrassed to throw an elbow that high, but by some miracle the refs miss or overlook it. So, you can almost see Kovalev's mind working: "If these guys hate Russians or simply aren't going to protect me, I'll do it myself."

.

[RadioGaGa 162]

Absolute Enigma....but talent off the charts. Saw a game in Buffalo when he was with Montreal. I think he had 2 goals and an assist in an overtime win (or a goal and 2 assists...can't remember). Every time he touched the puck, it's like he was the only guy going full speed and everyone else was going slow motion.

When he was "on" he was amazing to watch.

Bon Chance L'artiste!

[chippa13 1844]

I could watch him put that shot on Tucker forever. I always hated Tucker and that cry baby face after someone retaliated against him.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

Stupid Crazy Skills. One of my fave players of all time, but I think he viewed hockey more as a job, despite him loving the game.

[bunnyman666 445]

Great retaliatory shot from Kovalev.

He will be missed.

[Chadd 916]

I remember watching the game when Kovalev took out Tucker. To see someone grab the puck and contol it while they hunt down someone on the other team to hit speaks to his incredible skill set.

[bunnyman666 445]

I remember watching the game when Kovalev took out Tucker. To see someone grab the puck and contol it while they hunt down someone on the other team to hit speaks to his incredible skill set.

Skills few beer leaguers could even comprehend!!!

[RadioGaGa 162]

Put this in the skills contest...pylons a puck and a glove on the ice. Gotta pick up the glove without losing the puck or hitting the cones.

haha

[chippa13 1844]

To be fair, it was Dennis Wideman. I think I could have pulled that off.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

This is what Wideman was known for...

[icewalker_bg 126]

Hands down one of the most skilled to ever lace them up, I wonder what he could have been if motivation and will was there.

[flip12 699]

Put this in the skills contest...pylons a puck and a glove on the ice. Gotta pick up the glove without losing the puck or hitting the cones.

haha

He does lose the puck there, at 3-seconds, #13 or whatever for Boston passes it back to him.

The big knock on Kovalev about not having desire or playing a complete game, whatever it is, seems to be the assumption that you have to progress the lower levels of hockey competence to achieve the high end--so that top end skill is built up like a pyramid above all the little things, and then somehow, in the case of Kovalev and sometimes Mogilny or Bure, they just decide not to do them anymore. I've been thinking, it's likely that those guys never really learned it (although Mogilny did play a great checking forward role for the Cup-winning Devils team in 2000), because they were always scoring, that was their mindset and their role. No coach ever picked them because they were great role players.

[Edit: forgot to mention here that this idea comes a bit from reading Behind The Red Line, Tod Hartje's book about playing in the Soviet Hockey league just before the fall of the Soviet Union, where he describes the all out emphasis on offense in Soviet hockey. To them, defensive players were just guys who couldn't score, so he found himself on a checking line trying to contain Bure, Kamensky, and Konstantinov. Kovalev is the last of these guys to learn hockey in the Soviet system, just a different approach.]

Also, Kovalev had sheer hands and pretty damn good speed too, but his hockey sense never reached that level of the great scorers who can read everyone else so well that they're literally playing with them, like Malkin does when he's on. It seemed like Kovalev would simply run out of options because he stickhandled himself into a corner when his brute force hands didn't penetrate all the way to the net. Perhaps he was motivated, just not equal in his other abilities to his hands and feet. I can see why that theory usually doesn't come up though.

[215BroadStBullies610 434]

Hands down one of the most skilled to ever lace them up, I wonder what he could have been if motivation and will was there.

Well said. Sums up his career right there. He was the ultimate Flyers' killer ha. Always a pleasure to watch.

[ruffage 6]

While there's never a shortage of heart/motivation/etc debate whenever Kovalev's name comes up, you certainly can't knock his passion for playing the game. When he was essentially forced into retirement by the Panthers in 2013 (after a very unexpected comeback from the KHL), he packed up his gear and joined EHC Visp in the Swiss B League for 2013-14 so he could continue playing, and won the B League championship no less. If it weren't for his bad knee I could see him playing for a few more years at least. He always said he wanted to play until he was 50. Swiss B is hardly the pinnacle of excellence, but it was at least another chance to see him work some of his magic with the puck. I scoured YouTube for most of the season looking for obscure game footage, there's some out there if you look hard enough.

His retirement was bittersweet for me in a way because I attended his charity shinny game in late May just outside Montreal. I had never seen him play in person, let alone being on the same ice as him. Bucket list stuff. Early on he came down the off-wing and ripped a wrister far side bottom corner with an effortless snap of the wrists, then did it again moments later. Amazing to see. A few times he decided to take the puck and not let anyone have it. It was not unlike his game of keep-away from the episode of Les Boys he appeared in back in his Canadiens days - a must-watch if you haven't seen it. Late in the game I came in on a 2-on-1 with him and scored off his feed, got to keep the puck, too. Career highlight for sure. So in a way it was lucky I got to see him play, and play with him, the last time he was in "game shape", even if 41 years old on a questionnable knee. He could certainly still move out there. So yeah, he'll be missed.

[chippa13 1844]

Not sure you can say he has passion for the game. More like he likes the paycheck.

[RadioGaGa 162]

He has intermittent passion for the game!

[flip12 699]

Not sure you can say he has passion for the game. More like he likes the paycheck.

Imagine what he was getting paid to play for Visp.

[Neal 41]

I have a hard time wrapping my brain around a guy who has practiced his game to the point he can hit the top corner with a one handed backhand or hit the cross bar from the far blue line on one knee being called lazy or unmotivated. The practice hours necessary would seem to make lazy or unmotivated be out of the question.

Now, did he fit the typical model of a hockey player (especially a Canadian hockey player) of being willing to dump the puck in the corner even it was guarded by two homicidal idiots more than willing to do their best to mutilate you? No, definitely not. He approached the game with creativity and yes, often tried to do too much, trying to use skill and hands to accomplish things that could be done more simply. A frustrating player because those flashes of creativity and beauty raise your expectations so much.

[chippa13 1844]

All you have to do is watch a good sample of his games to see how lazy and unmotivated of a player he could be.

One of my brothers could pick corners all day long because he spent plenty of time working on his shot, however, he couldn't stop both ways. Lazy and unmotivated players don't work on the effort parts of the game, only the fun parts.

This is one of my personal favorites.