At around the same time last year, former NHLer and Montreal Canadiens sniper Andrei Kostitsyn was looking to make a return to the National Hockey League after having spent four seasons in the KHL. Reportedly, there were teams interested in offering him a one-year deal although a contract was never awarded to the then 30-year-old Belorussian.

Today, the older of the Kostitsyn brothers is once again making headlines as he’s publicly stating that he not only wants to come back, but he’d jump on the opportunity to play for Montreal:

«Le Canadien? N’importe quand. Tu peux passer le message au Canadien, ils ont juste à me téléphoner » - Andreï Kostitsyn

— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) May 11, 2016

Roughly translated, le Journal de Montréal’s J-F Chaumont’s tweet says: “The Habs? Anytime. You can tell the Canadiens they just have to call me”.

Clearly, Kostitsyn is showing interest in joining the Habs, and has even gone on the record to state that he would accept a professional tryout contract if necessary. It sounds to me like he’s hungry and willing to put in the effort, but the last time general manager Marc Bergevin took a one-year chance on a player with a similar reputation, we all know exactly how that turned out…

At 31 years of age, Andrei Kostitsyn still has quite a bit of hockey left in him and is coming off a 20-goal 45-game season, adding 19 assists and boasting a +7 plus-minus rating. Two years prior, he scored 11 goals and had 31 points in 37 games.

While playing for the Montreal Canadiens between 2006 and 2012 (when he was traded to the Nashville Predators), he scored a total of 99 goals in 379 games (good for a little over 26%) and put up 222 points. In the postseason, he scored 14 goals in 49 games playing on a rather mediocre Habs team, although I can’t justify 3 goals in 19 playoff appearances during the miraculous Eastern Conference finals run (starring Jaroslav Halak) in 2009-2010.

Kostitsyn was unceremoniously traded away when rumours of his partying habits reached their peak. An older and more mature Andrei willing to win could prove to be an interesting option on the third line with David Desharnais, for instance, and he still has that powerful and accurate shot that made him an interesting commodity during the man advantage. Perhaps he’s learned from past mistakes.

Thus, I ask the question:

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