This is a good one. Now, I know there is someone on these boards that thinks Zubov is very close to that of Niedermayer. I think Niedermayer was better and had the better career, but it certainly is closer than people think especially when you take away the sainthood that Nieds has been given since he retired.
I think Zubov had more "good" seasons than Gonchar.
Norris voting:
Zubov - 3, 4, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 12, 13, 17, 17
Gonchar - 4, 4, 4, 5, 7, 9, 14,
Zubov has the edge in the postseason as well. Very underrated postseason career. My goodness, is it ever! Had a better postseason career than Niedermayer by my count. The Pens should have never let him go after 1996, that was stupid. He won two Cups, played excellent in each of them but people seem to remember Leetch (1994) and Hatcher (1999) more. Maybe they should with Leetch, but he would be in my mind the best defenseman on that 1999 team and overall when he was with the Stars.
The only thing that stops him from getting into the HHOF is that he lacks "elite" seasons. He has plenty of "good" years but other than 1994 and 2006 with that big year he is nowhere near the Norris. Even in those years Leetch was ahead of him in people's minds although Leetch finished behind him - 5th - that year. He needed more seasons like that but as it stands is about as close to being in the HHOF as any defenseman this side of J-C Tremblay.
Gonchar has a few more gaps in his career. Seemed to round out well at the end and looked very comfortable in a #1 defenseman role in 2008 and 2009. The thing with Gonchar that Housley doesn't have is that when his team went deep (1998, 2008, 2009) he was their best defenseman. He stepped up. Remember how awful the 2009 Pens were in the middle of the season? Gonchar missed most of it, that's why. They were a completely different team with him on the back end, that should never be underrated.
But he has those gaffes in his career, Game 7 vs. Montreal in 2010 for instance, and he wasn't good defensively early on. So he falls short of the lofty standards of the HHOF defenseman, and just short of Zubov too.