FanNation - The Republic of Sport

rmustud19 said 04/23, 10:48 AM
Granted Lidstrom is going to win the Norris trophy, but Sergei Gonchar should have been one of the other two finalists.

Let's just compare stats:
Gonchar: 78GP, 12G, 53A, 13+/-, 66 PlM
Phaneuf: 82GP, 17G, 43A, 12+/-, 182 PlM
Chara: 77GP, 17G, 34A, 14+/-, 114 PlM

Gonchar has produced more than the other two players while accumulating way fewer penalty minutes. Gonchar has posted some of the best numbers of his career yet for some odd reason, he again will not be in the running for the Norris trophy (He has never been a finalist for this trophy).

What can this man do for some recognition? He has put up at least 50 points every year except one since 2000, but this year he was not even on the fan ballot for voting in the All Star game. Luckily the GM's of the league were smart enough to include him in the All Star game.

Plus, Gonchar has been paired with 3 defensemen this year instead of having one linemate. At various points this year, Gonchar's linemate has gotten injured and while Gonchar was getting familiar with his new linemate, he was still able to produce at the highest level. His 53 assists show that he is one of the better passers of the game.

rmustud19 said 04/23, 11:21 AM
I think in previous years that has been a valid case. However, this year he has definitely stepped up his defensive side, which should all the more warrant his case to be at least considered ahead of Phaneuf or Chara. Your saying he has given up plenty of points. I think you're confusing him with Whitney or Sydor this year.

Gonchar has been playing the penalty kill more so this year than other years. I'm guessing you haven't watched Gonchar that much this year because he has been credited for 124 blocked shots this year, 2nd highest on the team.

Also Gonchar was paired up playing against the other team's top line. Gonchar was playing against Heatley and Spezza in this last playoff series and we all saw how well he did shutting them down.

You can't go to previous years and say well since he was bad in defense we can't vote for him. If we look at it that way, he has the most goals for a defensemen since 2000 (111G). Since 2000 Lidstrom has 442 points to Gonchar's 431, Zubov is next with 352 points. Gonchar has been a steady offensive force in prior years but this year he took his game to the next level, and provided the Pens with a solid well rounded defensemen.

rmustud19 said 04/24, 11:49 AM
Look who Lidstrom plays with too. Zetterburg, Datsyuk, Rafalski. He has some great players around him too. What makes Gonchar great this year is that he still performed despite the constant line shifts. Hockey players perform better when they are familiar with their linemates. Gonchar didnt have his usual linemate with him for the 80% of the season (Eaton tore his ACL). Instead he played with others like Orpik and Scuderi and three different goalies this year.

Like you said, the Norris trophy just isn't about offense. What put Gonchar ahead of Phaneuf and Chara is that he outperformed them in offense, but also that THIS year he was playing against the top lines of teams and shutting them down. Just looking at the Ottawa series, Gonchar and Orpik stopped Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson from scoring and only allowed one assist between their top three players.

Look at it another way. 46 of his 65 points were on the powerplay, which would not affect his +/-, however he had a rating of a 13+/- for the season. That shows that he is on the ice stoppping the other team from scoring. So in your reference to he gives up "plenty more points" just doesn't hold water.