Gonchar Saying Goodbye To Pittsburgh, Hello To Ottawa

 

The Pittsburgh Penguins worked toward the end to bring their top offensive blue liner back into the fold. But it just wasn't meant to be. Sergei Gonchar was the first big name off the board Thursday afternoon, electing to leave the Penguins for richer (in money only) pastures with the Ottawa Senators at what TSN's Darren Dreger reports to be a three-year, $16.5 million deal with a no-trade clause. That will break down to an average cap hit of $5.5 million per season for Ottawa.

There was always the possibility this would play out for Pittsburgh, considering the 35-year old Gonchar has just one more big-time contract in his career and he wants another payday. That wasn't going to fit well into Pittsburgh's budget, so General Manager Ray Shero pulled the trigger on a deal to acquire the rights to Dan Hamhuis for a third round pick. He wanted to get both guys inked, but that was improbably and both chose to go the UFA route. Hamhuis, however, is still an option for the Pens.

Gonchar now goes to a team that didn't previously have tremendous potency in the scoring department from defenseman. He immediately emerges as the team's top gunner from the point and first unit power play quarterback, which is exactly what General Manager Bryan Murray was looking to snag this summer.