Sergei Gonchar was a huge piece of the puzzle when the Pittsburgh Penguins made back to back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2008 and 2009. Sergei Gonchar left after the 2009-10 season in free agency when the Penguins decided that they could not commit the term that Gonchar was looking for because of his age. He spent three years in Ottawa and parts of the last two seasons in Dallas and Montreal.
Sergei Gonchar was so good with the Penguins putting up points on the power play that fans thought his replacement Paul Martin (and his similar 5 year 25M contract) actually struggled in his first few seasons with the team, which he of course did not
Sergei Gonchar is now back with the Pittsburgh Penguins under a PTO or professional try out.
Here's the deal, giving a player a PTO is fine. There is nothing negative about it. Specifically with this PTO there are some positives involved. Gonchar being around training camp can double as having a player/coach on the ice. Players like Letang and Pouliot can benefit from his power play wisdom/skills, something that hasn't been replicated since Gonchar himself left five years ago. Evgeni Malkin could use a steady diet of passes in his wheelhouse for one-timers on the power play.
Speaking of Malkin he is very happy about the news
*Translation: Cup is closer*
Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar have been close ever since Geno entered the league.
While there are no negatives in signing Gonchar to a PTO there are some potential negatives of signing him to a league minimum NHL contract.
The first is that the Penguins already have too many defenseman on the team. Here are the defensemen that Pittsburgh currently has:
Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Ian Cole, Derrick Pouliot, Ben Lovejoy, Rob Scuderi, Brian Dumoulin, Tim Erixon, and Adam Clendening. I see at least five players on this list that would be more comfortable playing on the left side.
If Gonchar is signed who's ice time is he taking? It isn't going to be Letang Matta, Cole, or Lovejoy. Nobody would have a problem if Rob Scuderi lost ice time, but I can' t say I like the idea of Derrick Pouliot's time being altered. He isn't a player that needs more "seasoning" he is a player that just needs to play. He is Pittsburgh's top prospect and has shown he is ready for the NHL. People have the perception that he is a below average defender right now, but that isn't true. People usually allow big gaffes to cloud overall judgment. It is easy to remember the big screw up because it is visually obvious. The regular run of the mill plays get lost in all the noise. Objective information showed that in Pouliot's sheltered role last year his impact on teammates on the shot suppression front was top pairing level. This is a player who needs to be pushed harder and not be treated like a delicate flower.
One of Pouliot's strengths also happens to be one of the things that Gonchar would be doing if he made the team, the power play.
Brian Dumoulin will be 24 years old. It is sink or swim time for him. There is nothing left at the AHL level for him. He cannot be sent to the AHL anymore without being subjected to waivers.
Pittsburgh already has the market cornered on bottom pairing defensemen. The only way this works is if Rutherford and his front office team have one more magical trick up their sleeve which would be a Rob Scuderi trade. Otherwise Pittsburgh's bottom pairing defense pool just got even more crowded
This isn't the Sergei Gonchar from his first tenure with the Penguins
Having Gonchar as a number seven defenseman on a minimum salary while not taking time from Derrick Pouliot is fine. But anything above that seems unnecessary when you strip the nostalgia away.
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