The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Friday that they are bringing back Sergei Gonchar on a tryout contract.
The veteran free agent Gonchar played with star center Evgeni Malkin for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Russian Superleague back in 2004-05 and after the lockout ended, signed with the Penguins. He spent five seasons in Pittsburgh, serving as an alternate captain for four of them, and was an integral part of their playoff success in 2008 and 2009.
Gonchar was an excellent power play quarterback and offensive defenseman in his prime. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Gonchar is the sixth highest scoring defensemen in Penguins history. When it comes to playoff performances, only Kris Letang and Larry Murphy have contributed more postseason points than he has.
However, at 41, Gonchar is a lot older and has more wear around the tires than the last time he was in Pittsburgh. Do the Penguins see him as still being capable of running their power play and skating top pairing defensive minutes? Or do they anticipate him being in more of a leadership role?
It could be possible that Gonchar is returning on a tryout so that he can mentor the young defenseman, the Penguins have another hotshot power play quarterback and offensive specialist in Derrick Pouliot that could learn a lot from him. Perhaps he will skate with them and teach the kids during training camp and then get to retire in a Penguin sweater.
Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the first time the Penguins brought in an aging veteran when they didn’t have confidence in their prospects. As much as they talked up the youth movement this summer and giving the young kids an opportunity to play, with the signing of Gonchar and the recent acquisition of Matt Cullen, it could indicate that the Penguins aren’t ready to trust their young players.
There will be a lot of competition for roster spots when training camp begins next month. To a certain extent that is a good thing, it pushes the players to be better and fight harder to surpass their peers. But with the holes in the roster filling up it makes it more difficult for the young and inexperienced players to actually get a chance to prove themselves. Only time will tell if this move was brilliant or if it was a huge mistake.
