Radulov buys into Canadiens’ mantra
Alexander Radulov says his goal is to help the Canadiens win.
And all the better if he scores a few goals in the process.
“My goal in coming here is to help the team and do whatever they want me to do,” said the 30-yearold who signed a one-year contract as a free agent.
Radulov has a history of being difficult to handle but, for the time being, he appears to have established a rapport with Michel Therrien.
“We’ve had two or three good meetings,” Radulov said Tuesday before teeing off in the Canadiens’ annual charity golf tournament at Laval-sur-le-Lac. “I’m not sure how they’re going to use me, but that’s my job and I’ll play wherever the coach wants me to play.”
The smart money says that Radulov will be lining up at right wing on the No. 2 line with centre Tomas Plekanec and a player to be named.
Therrien said Tuesday he has no plans to break up the line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher after they finished last season on a high note.
Putting Radulov on a line with Plekanec gives the Canadiens some balance on offence although there is a question mark on the left side.
Andrew Shaw will get the first crack at the left wing spot. He also signed as a free agent and, while he has played mostly as a centre, he has played all three forward positions.
“He told me he’ll play wherever we need him,” said Therrien. “We think he’ll be more valuable as a winger because he’s strong on the forecheck.”
Radulov is returning to the NHL after playing most of the past eight seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. He’s the second-leading scorer in KHL history — he trails Sergei Mozyakin by 33 points, but does have the best points-per-game average at 1.25 — and he has won three scoring KHL scoring titles.
He’s reluctant to set individual targets for this season — remember, it’s all about the team winning — but he noted that he had 26 goals in his only full NHL season with Nashville in 2007-08 and he would like to improve on that mark.
Despite his record in the KHL, Radulov was not selected for the Russian team in the World Cup of Hockey.
Radulov said he’s not in a position to comment on the exclusion because it wasn’t his decision to make.
But Radulov is following the tournament and he’s cheering for his countrymen.
“After all, I am a Russian,” he said.