Trading his rights will atleast give the Pens something when GM Ray Shero finally decides that it is inplausible to sign him to the 3-year deal he is seeking. Sort of like Nashville did last week with defenseman Dan Hamhuis, or last year when Florida traded Jay Bouwmeester, they knew they couldn't keep him so they got in return.
Don't get me wrong, I have been a Gonchar supporter from Day 1. He arrived in Pittsburgh the same year Ziggy Palffy did. Palffy lasted only a few months before bailing on the struggling franchise, but Gonchar stuck it out and was rewarded with a Stanley Cup last June.
He seems like a stand-up guy and a silent leader on a team that at times needs a kick in the ass. I can't find one bad thing to say about the guy. I wish he could stay, but the economics of the situation are making that wish seemingly impossible.
He has the knack for scoring big goals in crucial times, dishing out perfect one timers to Malkin, and quarterbacking the powerplay.
I still believe Gonchar is the best player that I've seen in the league when it comes to keeping pucks in the offensive zone, and has proved time and time again to be the key to the PowerPlay. Without him lugging the puck up the ice, they look lost.
While his on-ice exploits are in themselves worthy of the contract he is seeking, I feel his best contribution to the Penguins franchise has been his work with Evgeni Malkin. Without Gonchar opening his home to Malkin, the kid from Magnitogorsk Russia, would not be the player he is today. Sure, Malkin had all the talent in the world when he arrived in Pittsburgh after his midnight fleeing from mother Russia, but he was nowhere near ready for the adjustment to the American culture, and the pressures of being a professional athlete.
Gonchar made this transition smooth for Malkin. Providing the much needed piece of home that 71 was missing. He taught him how to handle the media, albeit very slowly, how to handle the pressures of being a star athlete, and how to just be a good guy. Gonchar did all this for Malkin, and the city of Pittsburgh has been rewarded with a superstar.
But getting back to the issue at hand, the impending departure of Gonchar from Pittsburgh. I'm sure that Ray Shero and the Pens brass want him to retire in the black and vegas gold, but it's just improbable. He wants a 3-year deal, the Pens want a 2-year deal. He wants somewhere in the range of $5 million per year, the Pens can come nowhere near that number and still find room to fill other voids in their lineup.
This is where it gets tough; you grow attached to a player for 5 seasons, and then all of a sudden he has to leave. But what makes it tough is that he doesn't want to leave and everyone in the organization wants him to stay, however, it just doesn't make financial sense to keep him. Sometimes the world of sports is not fair.
For the next couple of years, he will make some other lucky fan base happy with his PowerPlay prowess, or his wicked slapper that always seems to avoid defenders' sticks and bodies and make it to the goalie.
He will be very much missed in Pittsburgh. Hopefully the crop of young defensemen have learned a thing or two from old Sarge, and hopefully they can become half the player he was during his 5-year run for the Penguins.
Thanks Sarge for another Stanley Cup, thanks for guiding Malkin on his path to stardom, and thank you for being a class act and a great representative for the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh.
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