Interview With New Habs Acquisition Sergei Gonchar

In this translated interview from Russian, originally appearing on the popular Russian portal Sport Express, Sergei Gonchar shared his views on the trade that brought him to Montreal and confirmed that he’s very happy about playing for the Habs.

- In Russia, one of the most chatted-about NHL topics is your inclusion in the club of players who scored 1,000 points. You are only eight points away from being the first Russian defenseman to get into the “Club 1000”. It looks like you have more chances to get into the club with Montreal, rather than with the Stars.

- You can always hope for the best, but as in any interview regarding the “Club 1000”, I’ll tell you that I’m not running ahead of time. Once I’ll score my thousandth point, then we can gather and discuss this achievement. But for now, I don’t want to think about it.

- Did you manage to say your former teammate Valeri Nichushkin goodbye a last time?

- Yes, of course. He had a major injury, had to undergo surgery… Of course, now it will be hard for him. He’ll be the only Russian in the team. But this is life and hockey players have to deal with this all the time.

- Are you satisfied about the trade?

- Yes, everything went very well. The results of the team are very good, the environment is great and I know the coach as I worked with him in Pittsburgh; therefore, I more or less know what he wants. This really helped in adapting to the new team. Generally speaking, I’m very happy about the trade. Everything went very well. Even if, of course, it wasn’t easy to leave my teammates and, even more important, my family.

- Since you moved to one of the contending teams in the Eastern Conference, probably now you constantly hear talking about the Stanley Cup.

- Well, they always talk about it in Montreal. Here you have such an impression that they’re always talking about it. But well, yes, the team has a chance because all is going well, not only looking at the results, but also looking at the way the team plays. The team is very balanced and the results are a consequence of it.

- Will your family join you in Montreal?

- Yes, they will be here next week, during the Thanksgiving Day holidays. But then they will be back. Since the children go to school, it’s hard to make them move. Of course, they’re sad because they don’t spend a lot of time with me. But in hockey you never know if you have to move. Like they say here, “it’s part of the business”.

- How many journalists wanted to interview you after the first game for the Habs?

- Oh, they were a lot! I never seen anything similar. Radio, televisions, both English and French speaking channels. I didn’t expect such an attention on me.

- Is Montreal happy about you?

- Hard to say. I try not to give attention to the public’s reaction, I try to focus more on my game.

- The Habs have two great defensemen in Markov and Subban. Will it be hard to get space and playing time?

- The guys accepted me very well. The coach had some tasks for me since I arrived here. Maybe I’m still not fully complying with them, but the process is going on very well.

- Can you remember when three Russian defensemen played in Montreal at the same time?

- Igor Ulanov and Vladimir Malakhov played for the Habs. Did they have a third [Russian defenseman]? Honestly, I don’t remember.

- Was the trade a surprise to you?

- Yes, of course. Everything happened fast, there weren’t many discussions. It was more like my agent calls me and says “You’re gonna be traded to Montreal, are you ready?” The fact is that, according to my contract, each trade should have my consent. I quickly signed all the papers, then I went to get my passport, got on the plane and that was it.

- Did you think a lot about approving the trade?

- No, I didn’t even think about not approving it. The team is good, I know the coach; therefore, I didn’t worry and I gave my consent right after.

- Did Therrien explain what he’s expecting from you?

- Well, I won’t unveil any secret. We talked a bit, and he showed me in the team’s schemes. We didn’t have any time for long conversations. I got to Montreal in the game day itself.

- According to that game’s outcome, it looks like your role in the team is pretty important.

- I don’t know, but I hope that it will be like that. Everything works so far.

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Translation by HabsAddict's Russian Correspondent Alessandro Seren Rosso @AlexSerenRosso.

Posted in: andrei markov,habs,michel therrien,NHL,Russia,Sergei Gonchar,trade