KOVALEV BLASTS FORMER COACH CLOUSTON AND OTTAWA WRITERS

The enigmatic winger told a Russian newspaper over the weekend that he had issues with now-former bench boss Cory Clouston's coaching during his two seasons with the Ottawa Senators.

"In two seasons I still couldn't understand the ideas of our coach Cory Clouston," Kovalev told Sovetsky Sport in an article translated by Dmitry Chesnokov of Yahoo! Sports.

"It seemed that he scoffed at some players. You have to treat players kindly. If you leave someone on the bench, you should explain why it happened. This is coach's job. But when a player is benched and doesn't understand what is happening, he becomes lost."

Kovalev also criticized sportswriters in the nation's capital, saying they knew little about the game. "Ottawa journalists don't watch hockey at all," he explained to the paper. "When they fly with the team and go through the (metal detector) at an airport, their bags are filled with beer. You realize right away what these people do when they write about the NHL. (Vaoooooooooooooo)

"Let them make up nonsense about me. But I am happy with what I have done. I have played not for myself but for the team and fans. Teammates have never said a bad word about me. Fans are happy. I am approached on the street in Montreal and New York and told one thing: 'Don't take the bad to your head. We always support and love you. You're the best.'"


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Earlier in the season, Kovalev went public with his general unhappiness in Ottawa and openly complained about his role under Clouston, who demoted him to the fourth line for a period of time.

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