Some Montreal Canadiens fans this past weekend staged a rally outside the Bell Centre in Montreal demanding their club re-sign winger Alex Kovalev. 

Their cries fell on deaf ears as today the Ottawa Senators signed Kovalev to a two-year contract worth $5 million per season 

It's an interesting move by the Senators as they're currently embroiled in a stand-off with left wing Dany Heatley, who's demanded a trade but only to a select list of teams. 

There was talk the stand-off could impact potential free agent moves by Senators general manager Bryan Murray as the club has limited cap space and would need to move Heatley's salary if Murray had any plans of dipping into this summer's free agent pool. 

Kovalev's $5 million per season bites deeply into the Senators remaining cap space. 

 The club's cap hit for next season prior to the signing was just over $54.7 million, and with Kovalev's signing now pushing them over the $56.8 million cap for next season somebody will have to be moved if Murray hopes to get back under the cap and still free up enough space to bolster the rest of his lineup, specifically on the blueline. 

Kovalev could also be a risky addition for the Senators. Despite his fans in Montreal Kovalev's performance as a Canadien over the past four season was inconsistent, with an 84-point performance in 2007-08 and three seasons with 65 points or less. 

Age could also be a concern as he turns 37 next season and it's possible that may have been a factor in the decline of his performance last season. 

5 million per season could be considered an overpayment if the goal is to make him a second line winger, and if he's to become a first line player - perhaps to replace Heatley? - he'll have to return to that 84-point performance of 2007-08 to justify that salary.