The Montreal Canadiens dropped a bombshell Tuesday afternoon, announcing that struggling veteran Alexei Kovalev has been sent home to rest.
The 35-year-old Russian will not make the trip to Washington or Pittsburgh.
His status for a home game Saturday against Ottawa remains uncertain.
General Manager Bob Gainey said Kovalev is not suspended and will still be paid. He said the right-winger appears to be tired and has not been playing well of late.
Gainey also dropped hints that Kovalev has played his last game with the Habs - he was noncommittal when asked by reporters if Kovalev will play another game for the Canadiens.
"I can't answer your question about how likely he will be to be back in the lineup or not," he told reporters at the Bell Centre.
"He is the kind of player who is judged on his production, how many goals he scores, how many points he scores, that is the bottom line for a player like him."
Carbonneau's take
The Habs have lost 10 of their last 13 games to fall into fifth place in the Eastern Conference but Canadiens Head Coach Guy Carbonneau said the entire team is struggling and that no single player should be blamed.
He also appeared to support benching his star player.
"I don't think he's helping the club right now so he needs to have his life straightened out," Carbonneau told a news conference.
"When he comes back hopefully it will be fresh and ready to keep going."
Other stories overshadowed
News of Kovalev's benching overshadowed other roster moves Tuesday, including the Canadiens' decision to send slumping winger Sergei Kostitsyn to the Hamilton Bulldogs farm team.
The Habs recalled physical forward Gregory Stewart at the request of Carbonneau and his staff.
The moves came a day after Montreal sent a pair of draft picks to Atlanta in exchange for veteran defenceman Mathieu Schneider, who practised with the team Tuesday.
With files from The Canadian Press
