Pens GM Ray Shero talks Sergei Gonchar

Actions speak louder than words. But Ray Shero’s words about free agent defenseman Sergei Gonchar are speaking pretty loudly right now. Let’s see how bold his actions are:

This week on my 105.9 the X radio show, the Penguins general manger made a strong pitch on Gonchar’s behalf.

It wasn’t so much a pitch to Ron Burkle or Mario Lemieux for the cash to keep Gonchar in Pittsburgh. Rather, it sounded like a pitch to Penguin fans who soured on the notion of retaining the veteran blue-liner after his horrifying performance in Game 7 of his team’s Eastern Conference Semi Final series against Montreal.

“Too many people are looking at that Game 7 and saying Sergei Gonchar is finished and should move on,” said Shero Wednesday. “If I went along (thinking) that way….there would be a whole lot of guys not here next year.”

Well, can’t argue that one.

What could be argued though are the merits of keeping Gonchar to the tune of a five million dollar salary cap hit for the next three years. That is apparently what it will take to keep Gonchar in town.

While Gonchar surprised many with his upbeat attitude towards the possibility of staying here after the Montreal loss, no indications exist that he’d be willing to take a Matt Cooke-esque pay cut to continue his career in Pittsburgh.

Yet Shero seems to be insistent on convincing his fan base that Gonchar may be worth such a price tag.

“Sergei Gonchar is still a real good player. He’s 36, not 46. If Detroit had cut ties with Nick Lidstrom at 36 they would’ve missed out on five good years of hockey. It’s difficult to find people who can skate 24 minutes a night and total 50-60 points,” argues Shero.