Gonchar Headed to Ottawa

News is being reported that Sergei Gonchar has signed a deal with Ottawa for 3 years at $5.5 million per year. If the sources are correct, I say "Bye, Bye Gonch!"

Gonchar is still a solid player at 36 years old, but he is nowhere near the player that helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup two seasons ago. He has lost a step in my opinion, and seemed to shy away from contact last year more than he had in the past, something that can be expected of a player that age.

The Penguins have two young offensive defensemen in Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski that can replace what Sergei does on the power play, a power play that severely underachieved last year I might add. Gonchar is a stable presence and good veteran in the locker room, but the Penguins have plenty of leadership in Sidney Crosby. If the Penguins are able to use the money they saved from not resigning Gonchar to bring in a younger, lockdown defender such as Anton Volchenkov, I think it will be a win in the long run for the Pens.

As for the Senators, it is a decent sign albeit one that may be a little too long, but it is not a cure for what ails them most. On the positive, Ottawa has lacked a puck moving defender on their blue line for some time now and Gonchar should work well with the Senators' good group of offensive forwards. The Senators problem, however, has been goaltending, and Gonchar surely does not solve that problem.