More or less what I expected. The bigger mistake might be him coming to the West for the first time in his career at 39 years old.

I remembering hearing Ken Holland (I think) talk about how puck moving dmen and salaries. You never pay more than say 3.5 or something for a stellar dman unless he can move the puck. A guy Sergei Gonchar would never have settled for less than 4-4.5 and if that was for 1 year, he'd be playing in the KHL.

It's true- he played great here in Ottawa, especially with Karlsson & Cowen out. He is also a great leader. But in against the Pens it showed that against fast teams he will get exposed. What will he bring to Dallas? Tremendous poise. Superb puck handling ability, (atm) not defensively liable instead an active stick. Speed my guess will be the same but acceleration, endurance will be an issue.

Wish him the best in Dallas. "With Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowen, Eric Gryba, Mark Borowiecki, Marc Methor, Chris Phillips, and Patrick Wiercioch, the Senators are well stocked defensively"- Ottawa Sun. I don't know if we're "stocked" but certainly was the time for #55 to depart
- AlfieisKing

Sens will grab another vet in the offseason. Don' expect Borowiecki to play- too many ahed of him on the depth chart, even if Benoit is resigned

Fair signing...if he hit the ufa market I could've seen a team give him same money longer term.

So with a shrinking cap, stupid GM's are still giving out over priced contracts? Look for Dallas to be trading Gonchar at the 2015 deadline, similar to what they did with Jagr this season and will do with Whitney this coming season.

So with a shrinking cap, stupid GM's are still giving out over priced contracts? Look for Dallas to be trading Gonchar at the 2015 deadline, similar to what they did with Jagr this season and will do with Whitney this coming season.
- Orange Julius

Dallas has 30mil in cap space.

One of the downsides of a cap floor. Although I'm not sure what their situation is.

If I recall correctly, Gonchar and Goligoski played together in Pittsburgh, maybe that connection plays into this as well.

Since there are no Dallas fans that read this blog I will add the Stars have some solid young Dmen that they are no doubt trying to groom and will likely dump Gonch (if there are any takers) at the deadline.

The extra year was to keep him from signing in the KHL, he can always be bought out.

I guess if you've got a lot of cap space to work with and signing a player like Gonchar doesn't put future moves in jeopardy, it makes sense. Not a lot out there for solid veteran UFA defensemen. That said, seems like a bit of an over payment, especially having to give up a pick just to get him.

Since there are no Dallas fans that read this blog . . .
- Sell My Monkey

Ehem. I think you mean comment on blog posts. I read a post every time Bill writes one up and have for a couple of years now, but I make very few comments. There is no way I am alone in that regard.

As for the trade and signing, he's far from overpaid when you consider the whole package. Sure, he can still play, and that's great, but it's not all. He'll give the Stars much needed flexibility to move one or two of Robidas, Goligoski and Daley while having a veteran to work with a large stable of young d-men. There's a value for that. It's $10 million over two years, apparently.

To answer another question as to why the Stars suddenly value veterans when they traded veterans away, it's what teams that are out of the playoffs do at the trade deadline. They get assets for players who were going to leave the team as free agents at the end of the season. That does not mean those same teams don't wish to field a competitive hockey team the following season or not have any player over the age of 25. It's pretty standard fair, really.

Gonchar got his market value, especially in a depleted UFA market. Getting a potential UFA Dman who can still play a lot of minutes means "overpaying". It's just the reality. The two-year deal also gives flexibility to potentially trade Robidas at deadline.
- bmeltzer

If this deal is going to set the market, I guess this year is going to be alot like last year, except that the quality of Defensemen getting overpaid has gone down, while the prices have continued to go up.

according to capgeek, dallas still has almost $14mil in cap space, definitely not a killer for Dallas, but still... thats a lot of money for a player at Gonchar's advanced age.

Gonchar is worth more on the open market
- lkeh73

Gonchar is not better than Streit at their current ages. That does not mean Streit is worth more than 5 mil but if I was Nill I would have gone for Streit.

Gonchar is worth more on the open market
- lkeh73

if Oleksiak makes the team next year, I don't see size on the blue as a problem

I'm not sure this means the end for Robidas. I would much rather see less of Rome, also nothing wrong with a little depth at the position. We may see less of Larsen or even Jordie Benn.

wow OVERPAID! ...what a waste of 10$ mill

wow OVERPAID! ...what a waste of 10$ mill
- CarlitoBrigante

So was Connolly, but his term at 2 years went quickly and without much hassle. Worst case scenario he bridges the cap floor on a developing team, allows Dallas to trade potentially better Defenseman for more assets and continue to build while still fielding a mildly competitive team that can slip in the playoffs unnoticed and do some damage.

Seems like a solid plan to me. Not to mention they have a good starting goalie, a franchise 1st liner capable of playing center and wing, and massive amounts of organizational depth learning the ropes.

Faksa, Morrow, Campbell, Oleksiak, Nemeth, Ritchie, Chaisson. Solid prospects, young core, good future. 10th overall to invest in more Forwards like Shinkaruk, Horvat, Domi, Monahan, Zykov etc.

They also have the assets to move up to grab a guy like Nichushkin or Barkov.

and the players female dog they are underpaid and owners say they pay too much.....then Gonchar gets 10 mill.....what a joke of a league

and the players female dog they are underpaid and owners say they pay too much.....then Gonchar gets 10 mill.....what a joke of a league
- CarlitoBrigante

Corporate America.

What can ya do?