"The Senators need their defencemen to get more offensive this season.

And if the plan is to have any success, Sergei Gonchar will be leading the way.

Signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, the veteran blueliner is expected to be an impact player and kick-start the offence.

The Senators weren't happy with their 21st-ranked power play or their offence from the back end last season. They are hoping the 36-year-old Gonchar can help get them on track.

Right now, Gonchar is taking a chemistry lesson. He is trying to get used to the way the Senators work the power play and move the puck. He has spent a lot of time talking to sophomore blueliner Erik Karlsson.

"What I'm hoping is I can help them as much as I can on both sides of the ice," said Gonchar, in the first season of a three-year, $16.5-million deal. "Hopefully, we can get a power play going and then I know that I have to play as well defensively as I can.

"When you're a little bit older and you've been around a system for a long time, it's a matter of getting on the same page with the guys. We're still at the beginning of the process and it's not going to happen overnight. We just need a little bit more time."

Gonchar is one of the best offensive defencemen in the NHL, with 202 goals and 684 assists for 842 points in 991 career games."