STU COWAN
Alexander Radulov was introduced to the Montreal media on Monday afternoon at the team’s practice facility in Brossard.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-winger signed a one-year, U.S.$5.75-million free-agent contract on July 1 after spending the last eight seasons in the KHL. The 30-year-old Russian was selected by Nashville in the first round (15th overall) at the 2004 NHL entry draft, but after playing only two seasons with the Predators left for the KHL.
Radulov has spent the last eight years in the KHL, but returned to the Predators for a short stint at the end of the 2011-12 season and was suspended by the club after missing curfew the night before an NHL playoff game, along with former Canadien Andrei Kostitsyn. Radulov returned the the KHL the next season and has been there ever since. Last season, he posted 23-42-65 totals in 53 games with CSKA Moscow.
Radulov has played in La Belle Province before, spending two seasons with the junior Quebec Remparts and posting 61-91-152 totals in 62 games during the 2005-06 campaign while living with Patrick Roy, who was coaching the team at the time.
Here’s some of what Radulov had to say to the media during a 20-minute scrum Monday while wearing a red No. 47 Canadiens jersey after greeting everyone with a big smile, saying: “Bonjour à tout le monde. Comment ça va?”
Is this the first time you’ve put the jersey on today?
“No. Actually, I had a photo shoot in the stall an hour before. I’ve been waiting for you guys (big smile).”
How is it for you to be in this environment today?
“It’s an honour and I’m really happy to finally be here and get ready for the season and train with the guys and be in this amazing facility. It’s a lot of fun and I’m excited.”
When did you get into Montreal?
“Saturday night.”
What was the visa problem?
“It wasn’t a problem. It was just like a misunderstanding because they said that it’s going to be ready after two weeks and it was ready after three weeks. So I had to spend one more week in Moscow with my child and my family.”
How was your summer in Moscow?
“I was in Italy for July and June and then I get back in Moscow and start skating and training, and now I’m here.”
What are you most excited about being a Montreal Canadien?
“I’m excited to be back in the NHL, first of all, and obviously being part of Montreal … it’s huge. An Original Six (team). It’s always a hockey town and they always want to go for a run and for a Cup and that’s the reason I chose Montreal because I want to play and I want to compete for a Cup. That’s the main thing.”
Is the one-year deal a challenge for you, personally, career wise?
“All the players want maybe a longer term deal, but in my situation right now NHL has changed and I wasn’t here for years and it is what it is. Marc (Bergevin) has been talking to me a lot and he came to New York. We met there, we sit and we had a good conversation and we agreed to that deal. I’m happy and hopefully they’re happy and I’ll try to prove to myself, first of all, and to everybody here, fans and managers, that they believe in me. And thanks for that shot.”
Why did you leave the NHL?
“It was a long time ago and I was young and it was a different situation. It’s inside and I’m going to live with it. It’s in the past. We’re going to move forward and just build a great team here and try to win.”
Do you have regrets about leaving?
“I don’t want to say it was a mistake. Maybe it was a tough decision, obviously. I didn’t do it in the right way. But like I said before, it’s in the past and I did what I did and there’s no point to look back. Right now, I’m older and I got family and my family’s very excited about it to be moving to Montreal. We’ll see.”
What can you show fans now?
“First of all, I’m going to show my best. … I’ll try to work every metre on the ice and outside of the ice, too, in the locker room. Be a leader. Help the team. Help the guys and try to be one family, because at the end that’s what matters. Because if you have a good group of guys, good team and good family, that way you have a good chance to win.”
Are you looking to prove people wrong?
“Absolutely. I wasn’t here for four years and I know what people are expecting from me. I know they didn’t see me for a few years but, like I said, I’m ready and I want to prove to everybody — to myself first of all — that I can play here and be a good player here and help the team.”
Apart from your age, are you a different player now than you were in Nashville?
“When you get older, it’s different. You look at hockey differently on the ice and off the ice. A lot of things change. So when you get older, you might not do the same things like you did before on the ice or off the ice. Time flies as you get older and things change.”
Did your experience in Quebec City get you ready for what you’re going to face here?
“Absolutely. C’est correct (big smile). Absolutely, yes. … It’s a special place to play because of you guys, media, and fans. They all want to win every day, every night, and that’s who I am. I hate losing, I hate when something goes not our way. I just want to win and I think this is the place and I’m ready for it.”
You had other options in Florida, Detroit …
“There were some options, but who cares right now? I’m happy to be here with you guys and the team.”
Why Montreal, specifically?
“When I first got to Canada it was Quebec City. I played there for two years, Yes, it wasn’t the NHL, it was junior league. But still I had a good experience, we had a great group of guys there. We played and we won the Memorial Cup. It was a lot of fun and I saw those fans when they were the happiest people in the world. What can be better than when you make people, fans happy, and that’s the best time. Because at the end of the line, we all play for fans, for people who come to the game.”
What kind of centre do you work best with … a shooter or a scorer?
“Right now, it’s all about the coaches. Wherever they put me, I’ll do my job. There is a lot of good players in this locker room. You can go with Max (Pacioretty) and (Brendan) Gallagher, (Alex) Galchenyuk, those guys. On the back, (Shea) Weber. I think there’s enough players to play with and have good hockey and win.”
Have you put expectations on yourself when it comes to numbers?
“The first goal, I want to win. I want to win every night and it doesn’t matter who’s going to score or put up the points. We want to win. It’s a team game and I think when the team’s going to be successful everybody will be successful and every player will do good.”
What’s the biggest difference between the KHL and NHL?
“It’s a different league. It’s different because the ice is bigger (in the KHL), first of all. It’s completely different. I think here the game is faster and you can get more scoring chances because the ice is not that wide. If you basically beat the one guy, you get a scoring chance 100 per cent. There, if you get better position on a guy in the corner, you got still four guys in front of you. It’s kind of different.”
There is more defensive commitment in NHL. How will you fit in that type of philosophy with the coach here (Michel Therrien)?
“It won’t be a problem because they will show on video the way they want us to play. As a player, I have to come every day and try to do that thing the coach asks me to do and tells us to do. I think we’ll be all right.”
What do you say to Montreal fans who still remember you missing curfew in Nashville and have concerns?
“It’s in the past, obviously. I missed curfew … I’m not going to lie. But the way everything was announced, I don’t agree with it. But like I said, it’s in the past and I don’t really want to get into it because I explained that many times. Now I have family (a wife and 9-month-old child), I have no time to go somewhere and I really don’t want to because I’m getting older and I know I got to take care of myself and be in shape and be 100 per cent every day. I know how to do that.”
Are you looking forward to playing with Shea Weber again (they were teammates in Nashville)?
“Well, it’s better to play with him, not against him (big smile).”
Are you excited about the Russian element on the Canadiens (with Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin)?
“It’s fun. It’s good that the guys speak Russian. But for me, it’s not necessary. It’s nice … it’s good to have Russian guys on the team, obviously. But it’s not the point I picked Montreal.”
Why No. 47?
“I don’t know. Twenty-two (his number with the Remparts) is done in Quebec (laughs). Forty-seven, because I played last eight years with 47 and they were asking me if I wanted to wear 47 and I said: ‘Yeah, why not?'”
Would you say it’s a new start for you?
“Yeah, obviously. It’s a new challenge for me. I’m really looking forward … I can’t wait to start. I just need to prepare good and be ready.”
Have you sat down yet with Michel Therrien for a conversation?
“I just spoke with him like 20 minutes ago, right before I got here. We talked about a lot of things. Everything went well.”
If you were to give a scouting report on yourself, what are the strong points of your game?
“I want to be a team player. And I think I can do that, and I did it before. And obviously offence, yes. And play both ways on the ice and create scoring chances and help the team.”
What will you miss most about Russia?
“As long as my family’s going to come, I don’t think I have enough time to be missing something because there’s going to be a lot of games and a lot of training. I’m not missing anything. I’m fine.”
Are you looking forward to that moment when they introduce you in the first game of the season at the Bell Centre?
“You say that question right now and I’m kind of like: Hah! Imagine that. Obviously, I can’t wait to start.”
(Photo: Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
• Spotlight will shine brightly on Habs’ Radulov, by Stu Cowan