The Penguins' Powerplay With and Without Gonchar

We all love Gonch. I think we can all agree that without him, there’s no 2009 Cup.

I think we can all also agree that him playing on one leg after Ovechkin tried to cripple him makes him a local hero.

But at some point, the rest of the team — especially the D corps, and the young “offensive defensemen” we’ve collected in particular — needs to grow up and start taking over his responsibilities. Speedy young forwards are already starting to exploit Gonch’s older legs, and the decline is only going to accelerate.

“Gonch is our quarterback” eventually has to pass from our lexicon. It may be true now, but repeating it as he becomes more of a defensive liability as he ages will only make it less of a truism and more of a cliched and empty koan that we repeat to excuse the lapses.

All the while, we aren’t making Letang and Goligoski (and maybe even Lovejoy) get through the growing pains they need to thrive on the powerplay. So instead, we use Gonch as a crutch.

A five million dollar crutch.

1 year at $3.5m, 2 at $3 per with NO no trade clause. We have other resources to develop and other needs to meet.

I just can’t see more than $3M tto Sarge if the wing needs are going to be addressed. Someone suggested $4/$3M/$2M for 3 years, for a $3M annual cap hit. Maybe that would work.

I’d LOVE Gonchar back at the right price and the right length of contract. However I’m putting my money on the fact that he gets a better deal elsewhere.

…imagine if Letang and Gogo are given a training camp to QB the powerplay to develop some chemistry and tendancies with the players on the powerplay. Then Gonchar is out, someone is asked to step up and fill his shoes, which is impossible. Why not give Letang and Gogo an entire season to allow the PP to adapt to their styles, rather than asking them to try to emulate Gonchar’s techniques?

I would bet that any team with Gonchar as the PP guy drops off significantly when he is injured because no one can do it like him. Let others do it their way, and the results will be there.

if the dont resign sarge our pp will have a different look more then sarge they need a big body to stand in front of the goalie and stop making all the stupid prettty passes they like to make like malkins no look backwards pass

it also was at the point in the season when they lost gonchar they also lost malkin for like 10 of those games which added to the problem. put stall on the first pp have him stand in the crease and let malkin qb the second and actually have two pp lineups instead of one for a minute and 45 seconds and the other to come out and skate the puck up the last 15 seconds

but they turn into to many passes and try to make the perfect play everytime

The possible PP defensemen available, and I exclude Sneep and Despres as I have not seen them on the PP enough to discuss them, are Gonchar (if signed), Letang, Goligoski, Lovejoy (if signed) and Leopold (if signed). As they are right shooters, Letang and Lovejoy ought to play the left point. Both are responsible defensively and Letang has the speed and skating ability to prevent shorties. That leaves Gonchar, Leopold and Goligoski, left shooters, to man the right point.

Gonchar has become a weak link in the Pens’ defense and no +/- will prove otherwise as he has all the offensive opportunity to play with Malkin’s and Crosby’s line who score often. In fact, if the PP points are disregarded, he and Letang were roughly even offensively at even strength, although Letang was for the most part playing behind lesser forwards against the opponents’ top scorers. However, he has become a shorty waiting to happen as the Moen goal demonstrated despite Letang’s almost superhuman effort to prevent it.

Goligoski has a lot of potential on the right point. He has played it before in college and at WBS with Lovejoy. His somewhat strange skating style gives him good speed; however, like Gonchar he is a defensive liability.

Leopold is a good, if not great, skater. He has played right point on the powerplay in the NHL. He has an effective shot from the point and can pass well. He is a responsible, if not extraordinary, defender.

Thus, choices being limited, Letang will be paired with one of these three on the first power play and Lovejoy will be paired with another of them depending upon who is signed. because playing a left shooter on the left point is just stupid and ought not to be done absent an emergency. It eliminates a one timer from the left point and allows the defense to become oriented against the Pen’s right side.

With the emergence of Letang offensively on the PP in the playoffs, perhaps the left point ought to be the so called quarterback. After all as a right shooter he can pass on his forehand to the left half wall more easily than a right shooter.

Just food for thought. Letang and Orpik will become the shut down defenders and Letang and whoever will run the PP. Folks, if Letang ever plays up to his full potential, Gonchar will become just a fond memory.

Additionally, all defensemen on the PP need to be mobile as their mobility will bring about significant movement while still being able to prevent short handed goals by the opposition.

My choice? Letang and Leopold for the first pair and Lovejoy and Goligoski for the second as I do not believe that the Pens will be able to sign Gonchar to a reasonable contract.

then get a shut down dman so it looks like this
Letang – Orpik
Gogo – ??? (hopefully Hamhuis)
Leo – Lovejoy
Engelland 7th dman

I suspect the blue line line-up will be Orpik/Letang, Eaton/Lovejoy, Leopold/Goligoski, Engelland. If you want toughness at an affordable price, bring back Joey Mormina who had a great shut down season with Lovejoy in 08-09 with WBS and is tough and big and can skate.