Let's look at the factors.
He's a notorious floater.
Our PP is currently 11th in the league, I doubt he could help it since he doesn't produce much on the powerplay anymore.
Our team identity revolves around hard work, something Kovalev has never believed in, because he relied on his high skill level.
His skill level can no longer compensate for his lack of effort.
He had a major knee surgery and has been pretty slow (slower than usual) on the ice. He's been a liability in most games I have seen him.
He's a healthy scratch on a bottom club. We are 1st in the East.
No one picks up a player ONLY to play the power play, and the shootouts, that's video game stuff. To be on our team, you need to take a regular shift here and there. Kovalev is usually a liability on the ice, so taking a regular shift would be risky for our team.
We seem to have a very strong locker room chemistry. Why bother bringing in someone that might risk the chemistry, just to play the PP (which again, is 11th in the league...ahead of Chicago FWIW... It doesn't necessarily need fixing, and it certainly doesn't need a ringer that is well past his prime and not producing)
Galchenyuk is due for more ice time, especially on the powerplay. He has insane hands, and is part of our future. We should give him more ice time instead of a 40 year old that isn't producing.
If not Galchenyuk, Eller, if not Eller, Gallagher, etc etc.
It's great that he wants to be in Montreal, or said so a couple years ago, but that should be completely irrelevant when discussing him returning.
We have a new team now. We focus on hard work and giving 100% every shift. These are two things that Kovalev is not known for.
Was he skilled? Yes. Did he play well here many moons ago? Yes.
Can he contribute on a regular basis (even minimal minutes) and help our powerplay? Doubt it.
It would be a waste of a roster spot, a risky move that may upset our locker room chemistry and would be a slap in the face of our younger players hoping for a call up. You know, those younger players that have produced 100% for years now, hoping for some ice time. They are the ones we should reward with ice time, and power play time. Not the 40 year old that's a scratch on a bottom team.
We don't need Kovalev. I doubt Bergevin wants Kovalev. He can't give us much in terms of positive contributions, and he's a liability on the ice as is evidenced by his last few years in the league.
For the millionth time, NO to Kovalev.
That ship has sailed. The train has left the station. The bus is already full. The airplane has reached max weight. The wooden raft is already too far down stream. The pogo stick has bounced away. The hand glider has jumped off the cliff. The donkey has left Cordoba. The elephants have died in the Alps. The ice float has left the bay. The...well, you get my point.