BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Bruins acquired high-scoring defenseman Sergei Gonchar from the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in a bid to add punch to their power play as the team prepares for the playoffs.
The Bruins dealt Shaone Morrisonn and their first and second round selections in the 2004 draft for Gonchar, 29, said general manager Mike O’Connell.
Gonchar is the top-scoring defenseman in the league, with 42 assists and 49 points in 56 games. Bruins forward and team captain Joe Thornton called the trade “a huge move for this organization.”
“The power play is going to be much better,” he said. “We’ve got a serious contender here now.”
The Bruins are in fifth in the Eastern Conference, two points out of the top spot as the season enters its final month. They rank 14th in the league in power-play scoring with 39 goals in 242 opportunities (16.1 percent).
Prior to the addition of Gonchar, Boston’s top scoring defensemen was Nick Boynton with 20 points.
Bruins general manager Mike O’Connell said he was comfortable dealing Morrisonn, 21, and draft picks because Boston has an abundance of good young players, particularly defensemen.
O’Connell added the dealing might not be done, saying he’s looking to pick up a forward to boost scoring.
“We feel we have a good team that is in the right place at the right time with our goaltending and our solid play throughout the lineup,” he said. “Adding (Gonchar) and hopefully others will hopefully give us a better chance to advance in the playoffs.”
The trade continues a move by the last-place, money-losing Capitals to slash payroll ahead of an expected lockout next season. Gonchar, the leading scorer among NHL defensemen this season, follows Steve Konowalchuk, Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra and Robert Lang out the door.
General manager George McPhee said the trade market for Gonchar was limited because he only considered deals in which the Capitals would get a young defenseman in return.
Morrisonn had one goal and six assists for Boston in 27 games this season.
McPhee described Morrisonn as a “safe” player with good mobility and intelligence who can develop into a reliable defender and penalty killer, if not an “elite offensive defenseman, an elite power play guy,” as he described Gonchar.
The trade leaves Washington without a player with more than 27 points this season. McPhee said the moves are tough to take now, but will give the Capitals a foundation of young, talented players.
“It’s been difficult, but … we’re trying to do what we think is best for the hockey club in the near future,” he said.
Gonchar, who turns 30 next month, is in the final year of a contract this pays him $3.65 million this season. He becomes eligible for arbitration this summer and will become an unrestricted free agent the following year.
O’Connell said the team would likely try to resign Gonchar after the season, adding, “We’ll let the season play, we’ll let the games go. He is a restricted free agent, which means we do own his rights.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound native of Chelyabinsk, Russia, had spent his entire career with Washington after the Capitals selected him with the 14th overall pick in the 1992 draft.
Since the start of the 1998-99 season, he’s been the leading goal scorer among NHL defensemen with 109 goals. He’s second among defensemen in points with 317 and has been named an NHL Second Team All-Star on defense in each of the last two seasons.
