The Senators have had a Russian on the blue line since the arrival of Anton Volchenkov in the 2002-03 season. The A-Train soon gained favour with the fans for his hard hitting style and his shot blocking ability, quickly gardnering the moniker of "Human Shield". Volchenkov, many will agree, was a defenceman's defenceman.



But he wasn't much of a puck mover, and not much of a threat offensively.

Enter Sergei Gonchar, the new Russian on the blue line. Gonchar comes to Ottawa with great numbers. Since the 2000-01 season, Gonchar has led the league's defencemen in goals scored and is second only to the great Nickals Lidstrom in assists and points. On paper, he gives the Senators a potent offensive capability. At $5.3 million per season for the next three years, Gonchar is not cheap, but is a great asset if his numbers stay up.

That's "IF" his numbers stay up. The Senators have the bad habit of picking up "has beens" for the past few years. Witness Martin Gerber, Mike Commodore, Dominik Hasek, and the list continues. While we're at it, Pascal Leclaire and Alex Kovalev are still question marks and could easily wind up on the same list.

Let's not forget that Gonchar suffered a dislocated shoulder for which he had to undego arthroscopic surgery, that he had a torn MCL in the 2008-909 season, and that he missed 20 games due to injuries last season. This didn;t prevent him from passing the 50-point mark once again, but still.

While I entirely agree with Bryan Murray that "it's time for other teams to stop pucks" and enthusiastically look forward to seeing Gonchar in action with the Sens, I will hold my judgment on the quality of this acqusition until I see proof of its merits.