This Kovalchuk victory lap is starting to remind me of what Raul Ibanez did with the Yankees in 2012. Just as the Habs did with Kovalchuk, the Yankees picked up an aging but good player who still had something in the tank, and they did so for peanuts- Ibanez signed a 1 year contract for a paltry $1 million. Ibanez got regular playing time due to injuries and at the end of the regular season and in the playoffs that year, he hit a series of dramatic late inning walkoff homers and other hits. It was probably the best one month stretch of baseball in his entire very distinguished career. Sometimes when you sign the veteran player for peanuts you find out he isn’t totally done and still has gas in the tank. The Kovalchuk transaction was absolutely a something for nothing deal for the Habs, which is a good thing because of all the nothing for something deals they have had. It’s nice when the something for nothing deal comes through. These things don’t happen a lot in sports, but Montreal just needs to keep riding Kovalchuk like the Yankees rode Ibanez in the 2012 playoffs.