Sergei Gonchar is the highest scoring Russian defensemen ever, and ranks #17 in the NHL all-time. Of the players above him, he ranks #13 in points per game. During his prime, he trailed only Lidstrom in points, and outpaced him in goals. The Penguins signed Gonchar during the 2005 offseason, stabilizing their defense and adding a mentor for their newly acquired rookie, and fellow Russian, Evgeni Malkin, who would live with Gonchar as he became acclimated to life in the US. Gonchar anchored the Penguins to a Stanley Cup finals birth in ‘08, and a victory in ‘09, before eventually signing with the Ottawa Senators in 2010. Gonchar, or “sarge” as the players called him, returned as an assistant coach for the Penguins from 2017-2020.

The 2007-08 Set 3 jerseys were worn for a whopping 30 games, and feature some of the heaviest wear seen on a set of Pens jerseys since the ‘93-94 season. This is likely the most hammered Gonchar Pens jersey in the hobby, aside from the away counterpart. There are ten repairs, several held together with twill patches, and it is matched to multiple games from the 2007-08 season. It is yellowed from sweat and washings, and weighs a good 15% more than jerseys typically weigh. I shudder to imagine what the water might look like after an Oxyclean soak.

By the end of the year, Gonchar was selected for the all star game, finished 4th in Norris voting, and 17th in Hart voting. It was the third most productive season of his career.