Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Would the addition of Gonchar be a good move for the Penguins?

There are rumors afloat that the Penguins are interested in Sergei Gonchar making a return to the Penguins.  They are only rumors, but the mere mention of it has people taking very firm positions on one side or the other of the argument.  The two biggest arguments I hear that are against that thought are that in his last playoff appearance for Pittsburgh he was SO SOFT it would make dog shit on hot summer day seem like case hardened steel.   And frankly, that would be true.  The other argument I hear a lot is that the Penguins are loaded with young defensemen and it is time to give them a shot.  That is also true to the extent that the Penguins have Simon Despres, Robert Bortuzzo, Brian Strait, Joe Morrow, Ben Lovejoy, Brian Dumoulin, Ollie Maatta, Scott Harrington, Puoliot, Carl Sneep andDylan  Reese as young defensemen who are either NHL ready or have potential as top 4 NHL defensemen in the league.   Reese, Lovejoy, Bortuzzo, Strait, and Sneep all have some NHL experience or are considered NHL ready steady type players.  Despres played in several games last season and acquitted himself quite nicely.  At first glance if you add in the 5.5M price tag, and the fact that the Penguins to me need another NHL veteran with a more stay at home/physical prescence I agreed that the Penguins would be better off not looking in Sarge's direction Upon further review, I may have changed my mind for the following reasons.  First, Gonchar is the final year of that 5.5M contract so if the addition of The Sarge does not work out, the Pens are not saddled with a long term albatross.  Second, despite the fact that many of above mentioned young blue liners will be long term fixtures on the blue line, it seems as if the ones who can make a significant impact are one to two years away from being NHL ready to the extent you would want them taking a regular shift during a playoff run where your team is a favorite to win it all.  Third, special teams is always key in the playoffs and the Penguins power play was an asset all of last year partially due to a large contribution made by another calm veteran who can make plays, Steve Sullivan.  Sully is gone, and adding Gonchar to the power play gives the Penguins two effective point men for the power play in Gonchar and Letang.  Fourth, Gonchar is one of those guys would seemingly be calm in the process of getting skinned alive.  That kind of veteran poise seemed to be lacking in the post season melt down last year and adding it back to the lineup is not a bad thing.  Fifth, in a short season with confernce only games there will be little room for slumping.  Gonchar has been playing and playing very well in the KHL on the same Magnitogorsk team as Evgeni Malkin often teaming up to create offensive mayhem.  They have and always seemed to have a chemistry that will be elevated in the short term over many others due to their game shape, and timing TOGETHER.   In a 48 game conference only schedule, getting a jump out of the gate could be a critical factor to playoff positioning.  Finally, the Penguins have a unique opportunity if all goes well and the core of this team is healthy in that they have the best goaltending tandem they have ever had, which again with so many back to back games may factor in since the Pens could put either on the ice at any time and expect stellar play.  They also have a healthy Malkin and totally healthy Crosby together to start a campaign for the first time in a couple of years, making them a pretty dangerous team.   They are pretty well balanced as a unit, and have sigificant depth up and down the lineup everywhere but on the blue line if you are talking about NHL proven high end talent.  Adding Gonchar gives them a top 6 of Letang, Orpik, Martin, Niskanen, Gonchar and Engelland.  Gonchar is not physical but sound postionally in his own zone, a great puck mover, and point producer.   They would have a 7th defenseman in Lovejoy, Reese, Bortuzzo, Strait or Despres.  Not a bad situation to have.  They would also  h ave 3.5M left in cap space PLUS the salary or salaries of the assets they would move to acquire Gonchar.  This would leave plenty of space and assets to address the need for another top six winger should the opportunity arise.  That championship window is not open forever, so I think a move like this is worthy of exploration, assuming Ottawa would consider the move. 

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