At this point, I agree I'd rather let Pouliot do it. My contention was you saying he wasn't very good when he was here. Gonchar was the 2nd or 3rd best PP QB in the world during the entirety of his time with us. Lidstrom was better. Mike Green may have been. That's it. That's the list of players you could argue were better PP QBs during that time.
Depends what years. His last 2 years here he was not good, and the powerplay was not good. Shea Weber, Andrea Markov, Mike Green, Brian Boyle, Scott Neidermayer, and Chris Pronger were still around and awesome. They were all in the same class of PPQB. Lidstrom very obviously on a level all himself.
Sarge had 2 real good years as a PPQB here. Not saying he isn't an all time great one, but I disagree with you say he was while he was here.
Right now, he's 41 and he has to be heavily insulated. If we were to sign him, you have to get rid of Scuds. Sarge would also need to have a role that allows Derrick Pouliot to develop - not to take time away from him. It's a fine line, and just Gonchar's presence on the team makes me nervous as to what ways he'd be used to prohibit our young defensemen from playing.
The ideal situation for us would be for Gonchar to be fine as a #7. It'd keep him fresh, it'd keep him around hockey, he'd earn a bit more money, and he could be beyond beneficial to every young defenseman on the roster.
