Alex Kovalev signed a two-year, $10 million deal Monday with the Ottawa Senators, leaving the rival Montreal Canadiens after parts of five seasons.

Kovalev, a 16-season NHL veteran, led Montreal with 26 goals and 65 points last season. He failed to reach a new deal before the free-agent season opened last Wednesday, and Montreal made several moves to spend its money elsewhere.

Kovalev

Kovalev earned $4.5 million last season and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Earlier Monday, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey told Montreal radio station CJAD that Kovalev would not be returning to the team. Gainey said he offered the 36-year-old forward a new contract last week, but the crafty winger took too long to mull over the deal.

“We hadn’t agreed on the amount, but another player was willing to come and join our team,” he said.

“So the dollars that we had allotted there for a particular position were grabbed up by another player.”

Montreal has also decided not to retain Saku Koivu, its longtime captain and popular forward who spent his first 13 NHL seasons with the Canadiens.

The Canadiens went on a shopping spree last week, signing free agent forwards Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta, and defensemen Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill. They also traded for high-priced center Scott Gomez, sending forward Chris Higgins to the New York Rangers in the six-player deal.

More than 100 people demonstrated outside the Bell Centre on Sunday, begging Gainey to re-sign Kovalev, who was acquired in 2004 in a trade with the Rangers.

Gainey said he considered the gathering as more of an homage to Kovalev rather than a protest.

“I think that Alex has really left a mark on people and the hockey fans in Montreal, and the fact that he won’t be returning with our team is a difficult and emotional separation for them,” he said.

In 1,151 career NHL games with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh and Montreal, Kovalev has 394 goals and 547 assists.