Well despite what was said to the media, Perezhogin has gone back against his word and signed with a Russia team (Salavat Yulaev) for $1.7M. He sites financial and family concerns as being the reason for the decision. (Truth is, that's more than Gainey was likely to offer him.)
Media speculation is that the "real reason" for the signing is that Perezhogin felt that other players (primarily Latendresse) were getting preferential treatment from the coaching staff... And you know what? He might be right...
At times during the season Latendresse looked pretty good. But more over, he was pretty sub-par. He did well on Koivu's line while Higgins was injured, but really, who wouldn't? Yes, I know he was a rookie, but aside from being a fan favourite, I saw no reason to keep him in the lineup for more than the first 10 games.
Meanwhile, guys like Kostitsyn were toiling in the minors because there was no roster room. Then, when injuries started to mount and there suddenly was room on the roster, the coaching staff still called up another French guy instead. How do you suppose that made Kostitsyn feel considering the coaching staff keeps calling up guys with less NHL experience and less skill than him?
I have nothing against French people (I am French). All I'm saying is that it seems somewhat odd. I would not have expected this from Julien (a Frenchman too) had he still been there. And ask yourself, would Scotty Bowman have done that?
Latendresse started to get better as the year rolled on. He gained more confidence and the puck started to bounce for him. So while Carbo and his crew may have started him on the road to stardom, have they now caused irreprable damage to the rest of the team?
So Perezhogin is gone. No big loss. Samsonov was pissed and didn't play. That could've gone better. Kovalev... Well, who knows what his problem was... I'm seeing a trend here. Who's next?
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