Wow the Gonchar hate continues!!! Chara, Phaneuf and Sasquatch beat him out? Cmon that is ridiculous.
Gonchar was second in defenseman scoring last season, and second overall in powerplay points.
He puts up a consistent amount of points every season, he is second in D-man points since 2000, behind Lidstrom, and no one else even comes close to the two of them. The knock on him has always been his defensive play, well that is getting tremendously better. Last season he played against the top line ever game, and even though he never had a consistent defense partner due to injuries, he still managed to play well on both ends of the ice.

Posted by Kevin from Pittsburgh on 10/08/08 at 12:40 PM ET

I don’t know if I’d call it hate. It’s likely just a bit of a media-love/word-of-mouth issue.

It’s just like how Lidstrom was overlooked for so long. He just did his job so well you never really noticed him, therefore concentrating on more “visible” players.

Phaneuf is the perfect example. He puts up a lot of points but he’s not world class in his defensive end yet. But you wouldn’t know that because all the media highlights are of him with his “big” shot and big hits. Since he’s on the highlight reel all the time, you assume he must be amazing.

With Gonchar, it could be the same way. He puts up so many points but they’re quite points and since he may play solid in his end, he doesn’t lay out the bone crushing hits and you won’t see much of him.

Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 10/08/08 at 03:26 PM ET