Sergei Gonchar signs with Ottawa Senators (Photo © Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Sergei Gonchar signed a three year, $16.5 million contract with the Ottawa Senators of the NHL. The contract includes a No Movement Clause.

Gonchar, 36, played the latest five years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the 2009 Stanley Cup. The veteran blue liner had 11 goals and 39 assists with Pittsburgh last season.

Recently Gonchar stated that he intends to play until the 2014 Winter Olympics that will be played in Sochi, Russia.

We’ll see this fall if adding a world class, puck moving defenseman will increase the Sens’ odds in sports betting places.

Evgeni Malkin: “We lost to Canada because we didn’t play like a team” (Photo © Shaun Best, Reuters)

Russian star Evgeni Malkin gave an interview to Vasili Osipov of Sport-Express after the game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers at the Madison Square Garden.
In this interview Evgeni talked about the reasons of Team Russia‘s defeat to Canada at the latest Olympic Tournament, examined the differences between the management of the two national teams and tried to suggest some changes to get the revenge in Sochi.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of the interview.

“Believe me, I still can’t understand what’s happened at the Olympics, it was a big disappointment. In Vancouver there was an extraordinary atmosphere and the organization was top notch. But everything fell in the background because of Russia’s results. Everyone was expecting good results from hockey, but then…

I think that we can’t afford losing time in our preparation for 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, we have to start right now. Look at Canada: they suffered from two painful loss in the two latest WCs and in Vancouver they went in full forces, they really wanted to show to the whole world that they can play hockey. And it showed.

Now we really have to learn from them, in every area. We should analyze the work of Canadian coaches, scouts and even managers. It’s not a shame to learn from the best. They managed to take the best from us, now it’s time for us to do the same. Otherwise getting good results in the best-on-best competitions, like the Olympics, will be very hard.

In four years in Sochi we will have to prove that such a bad defeat against Canada was only a fluke. Maybe we burnt out a bit, we were playing against an opponent who could count on a lot of support from the crowd.”

– Olympic emotions have now rushed out. Is it now possible with a clear head what were the reasons of the defeat against team Canada?

Malkin: “Nothing have rushed out, it’s still hard for me to talk about that. Before that game the coaches told us to play cautiously in the first 10-15 minutes. But for some reasons we all run forward to attack, even if it was important to pay much attention to the defensive play. Now I think: ‘Maybe we should have call a time-out after the first couple of goals? Maybe we should have change the goalie?’ But it’s easy to talk now…

Mostly we lost be cause of details, little things. As we were losing, we couldn’t keep our tempers, everyone was trying to beat out with the puck the opponent whole line. We didn’t show combinational play. Probably the coaches should have told us to concentrate more and relax. But, once again, it’s easy to talk now… But overall this game was a great experience for us and we have to come to the right conclusions.”

– In Russia many are talking about the “Vancouver Lesson”. About the fact that, for example, two coaches aren’t enough as they couldn’t physically cover all the aspect of such a hard tournament like the Olympics.

Malkin: “They speak the truth. I think that two coaches aren’t enough. And I don’t understand why we can’t raise this number. It’s the first time I work with such a truncated staff. And there wasn’t enough information. Bykov and Zakharkin won two WCs back to back and thus they decided not to change anything. But these Olympics proved that in that tournament the level is a bit higher than at the WC.

We surely have to widen the staff board. And I’m talking not about coaches on the bench but rather people watching the game from the stands. Almost all of the teams at the Olympics did this. The Canadians had a lot of people who watched the games from there, making notes and then showing them to the team.

– It’s a known fact that in North American teams they pay much attention to the tactics and to the video analysis of the opponents. How did team Russia work with this at the Olympics and before the unfortunate game against team Canada?

Malkin: “You know, these are two whole different schools. Of course we saw videos, analysed the opponents’ play. But the way they do it in North America and in Russia is really different. We are behind Canada in this. There wasn’t enough information, let’s admit it, especially for defencemen and forwards. But anyway I think we are doing steps forward. After all Bykov is a young coach, he will want to take his vendetta at the next WC and in Sochi. I think that he will come to the right conclusions.

But I’d like to add a thing. My personal opinion is that combine the work as club’s and national team’s head coach is a very hard job. It’s tough to follow both the KHL and what happens overseas at the same time, and there is a big difference between working with a national team and a club. But you it would be better to ask this question to the Russian Hockey Federation. Its people have to think about the changes needed to improve the situation.”

– And what kind of experience did you get from the Olympics?

Malkin: “Only that you really have to play with drive, but you also have to play with calm and stay relaxed. And also that you have to play like a team. We started losing against Canada when we stopped playing like a team.

It’s a pity that after the defeat they threw so much mud at us. I’ve even read that the national team’s players had a walk before the match against Canada. This is a nonsense! My team mates only thought about how to win and fight till the end. Maybe there were some injuries, some players were tired or we had some bad luck, but no one broke the work regime.”

– In Russia they also talk about the difference from NHL to KHL players. Perry and Getzlaf’s line easily won over Zinoviev’s one.

Malkin: “You can’t blame singular players. We all made childish mistakes and after them they scored. For example I lost a puck on our blue line and they scored us one of the goals. You can’t say that the KHL lines were worse than others. The game against Canada was hard for everyone. And both Zinoviev’s and Fedorov‘s line played well against Slovakia and Czech Republic.”

– How hard it was to switch to NHL regular season after the defeat against team Canada?

Malkin: “On the one hand it wasn’t easy, but it’s nice when you get back to your team. I think I’m already set here again. Now I try to think about how to win the Stanley Cup. Otherwise it would be really hard. You can’t forget such a defeat in one day, not even in one week.”

– Were you tired after the Olympic tournament?

Malkin: “Psychologically tired. Where were the medals, the national pride after this bad defeat? After such things there are always provocative questions and it’s hard to reply them. You know, I review in my mind a lot of times many moments of that game. I tried to analyse where we made mistakes. I’m still young so I recover quickly after the games, but when you are psychologically hurt it’s much harder.”

– Especially when you are sit next to Sidney Crosby, who scored the Game Winner in the Olympic Finals.

Malkin: “I respect Crosby a lot as an athlete. He got back to the practice without ostentation. He didn’t show any peacockery like ‘I’m an Olympic Champion, I scored the Game-Winning goal’. I thank Sidney for his support, he didn’t rub salt into the wound.”

– During the Finals, who were you cheering for?

Malkin: “I left the Olympics a couple of days after the quarterfinals, I spent some time with my parents and friends. I followed a bit what was happening, but I couldn’t watch the final match, I was on the plane. I looked at the result and Sid’s goal only when we landed in Denver.”

– Were you glad for your team mates?

Malkin: “Honestly speaking I felt a lot of envy. But the better team won, and we can only congratulate Team Canada.

Alexander Pechurski: “I played pretty well” (Photo © AP Photo)

Russian goalie Alexander Pechurski played his first game on Saturday and he was named 3rd star of the match thanks to his 12 saves in 35 minutes. In an interview with Russian website allhockey.ru he talked about his eventful weekend and his NHL experience.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

Alexander, I don’t even know if I should congratulate you for your NHL debut or encourage you for your team’s defeat…
Pechurski: “Yeah, I have a lot of emotions. My first NHL match came as surprise. Marc-Andre Fleury got an injury and they asked me to arrive here (Pechursky played the night before in Tri-City, around 600 kms from Vancouver – ASR). My team mates supported me a lot and thus I wasn’t baffled (smiles). I think I played pretty well for my first game and I’m really happy.”

You had to play with Marc-Andre Fleury pads. Did they fit well?
Pechurski: “Frankly speaking, it wasn’t really comfortable (smiles).”

Only the day before this game you played in the WHL against Seattle and the math wasn’t easy for you as you had to face 34 shots. And today you were on ice with Crosby, Malkin and Gonchar. Was it harder psychologically or physically?
Pechurski: “Physically. The WHL match started at seven PM. Then I got up at four in the morning and flew from Tri-City to Seattle, then from Seattle to Vancouver. I arrived to the practice directly from the airplane, it was at 11.30 AM. And in a few hours we had the game. It was really tough.”

Pittsburgh signed you to a contract valid for one game only. Is there the possibility for you to become part of the main roster?
Pechurski: “No. That variant is excluded for now since I still have one year left from my contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.”

How did the team welcome you?
Pechurski: “At the beginning I was really worried, as playing in the NHL was my childhood dream. They welcomed me very well, my team mates really supported me, even if I was the youngest player of the team, but Pittsburgh isn’t really an “old” team. For the whole game they encouraged me and gave advices, and I can only thank them.”

What were you thinking when you were sitting on the bench and you started understanding that you could have been iced, considering that John Curry was allowing goal after goal?
Pechurski: “Yes, of course I’ve thought about how to get on the ice as quickly as possible. I couldn’t think about anything else.”

Did you get any souvenir from this match?
Pechurski: “I’ve picked up the puck as a memory (smiles).”

Maybe the same one that you didn’t stop in the second period?
Pechurski: (laughs) “I can’t really reply to this question. I don’t know myself. But I picked up a puck.”

What did impress you more in the NHL after your stretch in the WHL?
Pechurski: “I’d say that here there is more sharpness, more tactics, more shots on goal, and that’s great for a goalie’s professional growth. I’m glad that “Steel Foxes” (Metallurg Magnitogorsk’s junior affiliate in the MHL – ASR) agreed to let me go to North America. Here I have really no complaints, everything satisfies me.”

You played in four different leagues. MHL, KHL, WHL and now NHL too. This means that you played in two leagues with big rinks, and in two leagues with small rinks. Where is it better to play?
Pechurski: “Frankly speaking it’s more comfortable on small rinks, although I played almost my whole career with the big ice surface.”

But nevertheless Vladimir Plyuschev didn’t call you to the WJC, even if they were played on small rinks. Can you tell us why you were excluded?
Pechurski: “You need to ask this to Vladimir Plyuschev himself, I don’t really know.”

Were you thinking about North America already on the start of the season?
Pechurski: “Yes, of course. I asked many times Gennady Velichkin (Metallurg Magnitogorsk’s GM – ASR), but there were some problems we couldn’t fix.”

Alexander Pechurski debuts in the NHL, makes 12 saves (Photo © Reuters Pictures)

Russian goalie Alexander Pechurski of the Pittsburgh Penguins played his first NHL match against the Vancouver Canucks at General Motors Place on January 16th. The young goalie played a WHL regular season clash on friday night and then he has been signed by the Pens to a one-game amateur try out after their starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury suffered from a broken finger and was forced out of the game.

Pechursky had to play in Fleury’s pads as the ones he wears in Tri-City don’t meet NHL regulations. But even if he didn’t use his own equipment, had to travel a lot and played in back-to-back games he showed that he is a NHL-bound player as he stopped 12 shots and has been named the match’s third star even if the Penguins lost to the Vancouver Canucks 6-2.

The Magnitogorsk, Russia, native has been iced in the second period with the Pens down 1-5. He allowed only one goal in the thirtheen shots he faced.

Sergei Gonchar: “Would like to be paired with Andrei Markov at Olympics” (Photo © Getty Images)

Russian defenceman Sergei Gonchar of the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose inclusion in Russia’s Olympics roster came as no surprise, talked about playing on one line with Andrei Markov of the Canadiens at the Olympics in Vancouver, main rivals of Team Russia, compared the Stanley Cup and the Olympic Games and said that he expected European referees to give more penalties.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of Gonchar’s interview to Alexander Chekhov of Sport-Express.

Q. What do you expect from the Olympic Games in Vancouver?
Gonchar: “Just have a look at our roster and you will see what I expect. We have a great team and there is no other aim except the gold medals.”

Who would you like to have as your line mate?
Gonchar: “Well, we played together with Andrei Markov of the Montreal Canadiens at the last World Championship in Moscow. I think we did pretty well. However, I don’t know what partner will the coaches choose for me this time. But I’m ready to play with anyone.”

What team is going to be the main rival of Russia in Vancouver?
Gonchar: “Oh, there are a lot of strong teams. I can’t say that one particular team stands out. We’ll have to be very responsible preparing for every single game. The Olympics are very short and any fault or underestimation can result in a loss.”

What is harder to win, the Stanley Cup or the Olympic Games?
Gonchar: “These two are completely different tournaments. But the way the best team is determined in the Stanley Cup is more objective. Any accidental episode can become decisive, say, the puck bounces or there is a rebound. When you have a series of games the number of such cases is way down.”

What can influence the result more, the small Canadian rinks or the international rules?
Gonchar: “None of these. What I’m anxious about is that there will be a lot of penalties as European referees usually pay much attention.”

So the games will be less physical?
Gonchar: “No, small rinks just won’t allow that to happen. But I think there will be more penalties than we usually have in the NHL.”

Alexander Pechursky to join Tri-City Americans (Photo © fhr.ru)

19 years old Alexander Pechursky decided to report to North America as he’s going to play for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League, according to allhockey.ru. Pechursky has been drafted by the US team in this spring’s Import Draft with the 55th overall pick.

Let’s remember that Pechursky has been drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins during the fifth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Pechursky, who won a gold medal at the 2007 Under 18 WJC, has played only one match with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL this year, and had a short stint in the MHL. Recently the club signed national team goalie Vasiliy Koshechkin and thus he lost his backup role. On top of that he’ll represent Russia at the upcoming World Junior Championships.