"Another free agency period, another aging, $5-million Russian on his way to Ottawa.

Last one hasn't worked out so great, has he.

On Canada Day, that was the hey-your-beer-glass-is-half-empty-again way to look at the Senators' signing of 36-year-old Sergei Gonchar.

On the flipside, there are probably only 29 other teams that would have liked to land the veteran defenceman.

At what cost? That is the good question.

There was some talk that Gonchar wanted to stay in Pittsburgh, and was willing to do so for less than the Senators paid him. If that's the case, the deciding factor had to be term.

GM Bryan Murray gave Gonchar a three-year deal while others, including the Penguins, would have been reluctant to employ the guy until he was 39 — mainly because injuries have allowed him to play in only 87 of his team's last 164 games.

It's a valid concern, and a gamble on the Senators part.

Good on them to take it."