Sergei Gonchar

At 50 years old, Sergei Gonchar has this physical status:

Sergei Viktorovich Gonchar (born 13 April 1974) is a retired Russian professional ice hockey player who is now an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He has played for the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins (with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2009), Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars, and the Montreal Canadiens.

Personal life

In 2000, Gonchar married Xenia Smetanenko. Natalie and Victoria, they have two children.

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Playing career

In 1991, Gonchar began his professional career with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Soviet Championship League. He has also worked for Dynamo Moscow for two seasons.

In the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, Gonchar was the first round pick, 14th overall. In 1994, he began his North American career by playing in two playoff games for the Portland Pirates, the Capitals' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. He spent 1994-1995 with Portland before making his NHL debut with the Capitals against the Buffalo Sabres on February 7, 1995. During the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, he appeared in 31 games in total. Gonchar tallied 41 points in his first full-length NHL season, demonstrating his versatility as a good offensive defenseman.

Gonchar was the first Russian defenceman to score over 20 goals in the regular season in the 1998-1999 season. Gonchar broke the 50-point mark for the first time in his career in the following season. He also finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting as the NHL's best defenseman.

Gonchar was named to the second All-Star team both seasons after 57-points (tied for a career high) seasons in 2000–01 and 2002–03.

Gonchar was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Shaone Morrisonn and two draft picks on March 3, 2004, his tenth season with the Capitals. He finished the season with Boston, accumulating 58 points, leading all NHL defensemen. Gonchar scored more points in 2004-2004 than any other defenseman, with 74 goals and 241 points.

Gonchar, a former Pittsburgh Penguins forward, played for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he competed with current Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Petr Skora and Evgeni Malkin during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Gonchar signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Penguins on August 4, 2005, following the lockout. Gonchar's second season with Pittsburgh, 67 points, tied for his second season in 2006. Gonchar welcomed rookie Evgeni Malkin in October 2006, who first arrived from Russia in addition to his on-ice duties for the Penguins.

Gonchar helped the Penguins win the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, the franchise's first finals appearance since 1992. Gonchar scored 14 points in 20 playoff games during the Penguins' loss in the finals to the Detroit Red Wings after a 65-point regular season (his eighth 50-point season). In Norris Trophy voting, Gonchar finished fourth, tying his best-ever finish for the league's top defenseman.

Gonchar was dislocated his shoulder during his first game of the 2008–09 pre-season. Since opting for arthroscopic surgery, it was expected that he would wait four to six months. Though Gonchar and defense partner Brooks Orpik said the attack was late, well after Gonchar's completion of the pass, Penguins head coach Michel Therrien ruled it to be a clean hit and that Kos have simply "finished his check." Gonchar played his first game of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 14, 2009 after being sidelined for 21 weeks by the Penguins struggling to make the playoffs. He appeared in the last 25 games of the regular season and tallied 19 points, assisting the Penguins in their 2009 playoffs as the Eastern Conference's fourth seed. However, Gonchar sustained a serious knee injury while playing in game four of the conference semi-finals against the Washington Capitals, beating Alexander Ovechkin on knee. Despite being scheduled to miss several weeks and possibly the remainder of the playoffs, Gonchar has returned for game seven of the series. Gonchar and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in seven games, beating the Detroit Red Wings for the second year in a row. He revealed he had been playing with a partially torn medial collateral ligament ligament ligament ligament ligament ligament ligament ligament (MCL).

Gonchar was sidelined with injuries for a total of 20 games in the 2009–10 season. Despite missing time, he went on to his ninth 50-point season in the last ten seasons, besting Nicklas Lidström's eight. He had his 11th season as a player with ten goals or more, tying Sergei Zubov for the most 10+ goal seasons among Russian defensemen. Gonchar finished third in points-per-game average among defensemen (behind Norris Trophy nominees Mike Green and Duncan Keith). On March 2, 2010, he scored his 200th NHL goal, making him the first Russian defenceman to do so.

Gonchar accumulated 500 points between the 2000–01 season and the 2009–10 season, finishing second in the NHL defensemen only to Nicklas Lidström's 550. During that time, Gonchar came in second among NHL defencemen in assists, behind Lidström's 434. During that time, he led the league in goals by a defenseman, with 128. Rob Blake was second with 119 goals, while Lidström had 116. During that time, Gonchar led the NHL in points-per-game average among NHL defencemen, winning at 0.80 points per game to Lidström's 0.76 points per game. With 0.27 to Al MacInnis' 0.26 and Lidström's 0.25, he led the league in goals created per game among NHL defensemen. In fact, Lidström scored more points among defensemen in his first NHL season in 1995, while Gonchar had 684.

Gonchar signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the Ottawa Senators on July 1, 2010. A no-trade clause was included in the deal. Gonchar returned to Russia to compete with the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)'s Metallurg Magnitogorsk during the 2012-2013 NHL lockout. On June 7, 2013, he was traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2013. Gonchar agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal with the Stars on June 8. Gonchar was traded back to the Montreal Canadiens for left winger Travis Moen on November 11th, 2014, this time to left winger Travis Moen.

Gonchar will not return to the Montreal Canadiens the next season, according to Canadiens' GM Marc Bergevin on May 15. Gonchar remained unsigned over the summer and was given the opportunity to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp on a try-out basis on August 14, 2015. Gonchar was released by the Penguins on October 3rd, 2015, at the conclusion of training camp and during the pre-season.

Coaching career

On October 27, 2015, Gonchar announced the end of his active playing career by taking a development coaching position with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. Gonchar helped the Penguins' defensive team win the Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, resulting in the promotion of the Penguins' full-time assistant on July 12, 2017.

Gonchar's employment, as well as those of fellow assistant coaches Mark Recchi and Jacques Martin, was not renewed for the upcoming season on August 12, 2020. Following the team's loss to the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five qualifying round for the 2019-2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the team was made.

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Awards and achievements

• 1997-1998 NHL Playoffs Most Goals by Defenseman (7)
• 2001-2002 NHL Most Goals by Defenseman (26), NHL Most Points by Defenseman (59)
• 2002-2003 NHL Most Goals by Defenseman (18)
• 2003-2004 NHL Most Assists by Defenseman (47), NHL Most Points by Defenseman (58)
• 2006-2007 NHL Most Assists by Defenseman (54)
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008
• Named to the NHL second All-Star team in 2002 and 2003
• Won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 as a player, and in both 2016 and 2017 as a development coach.