Habster’s take:
As much as I felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing Alex Kovalev publicly criticize Guy Carbonneau’s decision making against Florida, he was probably talking out of frustration and stating an opinion that some of the other player were quietly thinking. Kolavev certainly has ruffled the feathers of some of his teammates who were on the ice when Florida scored the tying goal.
There is no love lost between Kovalev and Carbonneau but with that being said, the coach has to be accountable for his performance as well. Carbonneau isn’t shy about calling out his player regarding their on ice performance. I would prefer to have the media be critical of Carbonneau or hope that Bob Gainey would privately speak to him about some of his concerns.
When the Montreal media is being used by the players as a means of communicating their concerns/frustrations about the team or playing time, then we can assume the coach hasn’t improved his communication skills. I think a meeting between the coaches and players may be necessary to alleviate any further problems and certainly open a line of dialogue or have a more open door policy.
