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As one of the world’s hockey superpowers, Russia (and before that, the Soviet Union) has historically been renowned for producing explosive and high-scoring forwards, e.g. Alexander Mogilny, Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, etc., just to name a few. Nevertheless, the country has also had its share of firepower from the blue line – in fact, outside of Sweden’s Nicklas Lidstrom and Borje Salming, the two highest-scoring European-born defensemen in NHL history both hail from Russia (and share the same given name): Sergei Gonchar and Sergei Zubov. The two Sergeis were among the elite defensemen of the late 1990s and 2000s, particularly when it came to quarterbacking the offense – while Zubov is a recent Hall of Fame inductee and Gonchar remains on the outside looking in, their careers are nevertheless comparable in statistics and achievements, thus bringing about the question:
Who was better – Sergei Gonchar or Sergei Zubov?
The Beginning
The two Sergeis both began their professional hockey careers in their native Russia; despite being drafted by NHL teams at a young age, each player would spend a few more seasons honing their skills at home before making the move to North America.
Gonchar was born in the city of Chelyabinsk and first started playing professional hockey with local Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Soviet Championship League; though he was drafted 14th overall in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, he first spent a few seasons with Dynamo Moscow before coming stateside for the lockout-shortened 1994-1995 season – in 31 games played, Gonchar posted 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points with a +4 +/- rating.
Meanwhile, Zubov was a native of Moscow and started his hockey career playing locally for CSKA Moscow AKA the Red Army Team; he was drafted 85th overall in the fifth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, but similarly spent a couple more years with CSKA Moscow until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1992. Then, as a rookie with the Rangers in 1992-1993, Zubov appeared in 49 games and tallied 8 goals and 23 assists for 31 points with a -1 +/- rating.
Career Comparison
Though neither player won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, Gonchar and Zubov were nevertheless extremely productive and consistent during their primes, often sitting at or near the top of the offensive leaderboard for blueliners and racking up All-Star Game selections and top-five/10 Norris finishes en route to record-setting careers.
In his first full NHL season, Gonchar improved his stat line to 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points and a +25 +/- rating, though would then settle into the 20-30 point range for the next few years. At the turn of the 21st century, he then reeled off five straight top-10 Norris Trophy finishes, starting with his first 50-point season in 1999-2000 (18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points with a +26 +/- rating). Moreover, Gonchar successively improved his offensive output year after year, from 57 points (19 goals and 38 assists) in 2001-2002 to 59 points (26 goals and 33 assists) in 2001-2002 to a career-high 67 points in 2002-2003 (18 goals and 49 assists), in the process placing sixth, fourth, and fourth, respectively for the Norris. However, in the midst of another strong offensive season, but with the Capitals struggling in 2003-2004, he was traded at the deadline to the Boston Bruins for Shaone Morrisonn and a pair of draft picks (Washington likewise traded Jaromir Jagr midseason); across Washington and Boston, he nevertheless led all defensemen with 58 points (11 goals and 47 assists).
During the 2004-2005 lockout, Gonchar returned to his native Russia and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) to play for Metallurg Magnitogorsk before signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent. When the NHL resumed, he tallied 58 points (12 goals and 46 assists) in his first season with Pittsburgh and then tied his career-high with 67 points on 13 goals and 54 assists in 2006-2007 to finish seventh for the Norris Trophy. Gonchar nearly matched that total the next season with 12 goals and 53 assists for 65 points and a +13 +/- rating to place fourth for the Norris, but was then limited the following season by injury to just 25 games played. In 2009-2010, he returned to form in his final season in Pittsburgh with a final 50-point season.
As a free agent once again, Gonchar this time signed with the Ottawa Senators. However, in his mid-30s, he was no longer the same dynamic offensive force of his prime and produced in the 20-30 point range over the course of three seasons in Ottawa. After briefly returning to the KHL during the 2012-2013 lockout, Gonchar was traded in 2013 to the Dallas Stars for a late-round draft pick, spending one-and-a-half years in Dallas before another trade to the Montreal Canadiens. Upon finishing his NHL career post the 2014-2015 season at age 40, Gonchar retired as the highest-scoring Russian-born defenseman in NHL history.
As for Zubov, he quickly emerged as a star with the Rangers, finishing fourth for the Norris in 1993-1994 with a career-high 89 points (12 goals and 77 assists for a +20 +/- rating). Despite a point-per-game pace during the lockout-shortened season, however (36 points in 38 games), he and Petr Nedved were traded to the Penguins for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille. Though Zubov had a strong season with his new team, posting 11 goals and 55 assists for 66 points and a +28 +/- rating, he was on the move once again after just one season in Pittsburgh, this time moved to the Stars for fellow blueliner Kevin Hatcher.
Over the next dozen years in Dallas, Zubov was part of a veteran-laden team that would include fellow Hall of Famers Mike Modano, Brett Hull, and Ed Belfour; there, he was one of the most consistent defensemen in hockey, racking up 11 straight seasons with at least 30 assists and 40 points, including reaching the 50-point mark 6x. In his first season in Texas, he racked up 13 goals and 30 assists for 43 points with a +19 +/- rating and followed with consecutive 50-point seasons:
- 1997-1998: 10 goals and 47 assists for 57 points and a +16 +/- rating
- 1998-1999: 10 goals and 41 assists for 51 points and a +9 +/- rating
Entering the 21st century, Zubov again posted back-to-back 50-point seasons in 2001-2002 (51 points on 10 goals and 41 assists) and 2002-2003 (55 points on 11 goals and 44 assists). Post the 2004-2005 lockout, he returned to the NHL with a vengeance, posting his best offensive season in a Stars uniform – with 13 goals and 58 assists for 71 points and a +20 +/- rating, Zubov finished third for the Norris Trophy, his highest-ever career showing. After a final 50-point season and top-10 Norris showing in 2006-2007 (12 goals and 42 assists for 54 points), he was limited to 56 total games over his final two NHL seasons due to physical ailments, including a hip injury that forced him to miss all but 10 games in his last NHL season in 2008-2009 at age 38. Finishing his NHL career as the highest-scoring Russian-born defenseman in league history (later surpassed by Gonchar as mentioned previously), Zubov would return to Russia to play for SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL.
On the whole, Gonchar played nearly a half-decade longer than his counterpart in the NHL (20 vs. 16 seasons), resulting in almost 250 extra regular season games. As a result, Gonchar scored more goals and points than Zubov in their respective NHL careers (#1 and #2 all-time among Russian-born defensemen), but Zubov tallied more career assists and had a substantially better career +/- rating; from a per-game average, Zubov actually has the better scoring rate as well at 0.72 vs. 0.62 points per game. Again, neither defenseman won the Norris, though each had numerous top-five finishes in addition to multiple All-Star Game selections (5x for Gonchar vs. 4x for Zubov). In terms of the Hall of Fame, Zubov was inducted in 2019 a decade after his retirement, whereas Gonchar remains on the ballot after first becoming eligible in 2018.
Regular Season Statistics
| Sergei Gonchar | Player | Sergei Zubov |
| 20 (1994-2015) | Seasons | 16 (1992-2009) |
| 1,301 | Games Played | 1,068 |
| 220 | Goals | 152 |
| 591 | Assists | 619 |
| 811 | Points | 771 |
| +33 | +/- | +148 |
| 5x | All-Star Games | 4x |
| – | Hart Trophies | – |
| – | Norris Trophies | – |
| 1x | Stanley Cups | 2x |
| – | Conn Smythes | – |
| – | Other Awards | – |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | 2019 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Team-wise, Gonchar and Zubov both made multiple Stanley Cup Finals appearances across more than one team, and each came away with at least one career title.
Throughout his long career, Gonchar was a 14x playoff participant across five of the six teams he played for (Capitals, Penguins, Senators, Bruins, and Stars), culminating in three Stanley Cup Finals appearances and one title:
- 1997-1998: Washington swept by Steve Yzerman and the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings; Gonchar contributed a personal-best 7 goals in the playoffs with 4 assists for 11 points
- 2007-2008: lost again to the Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg-led Red Wings, this time in six games as a member of the Penguins; 1 goal and 13 assists for 14 points
- 2008-2009: in a rematch with the Red Wings, the Penguins prevailed in seven games; again tallied 14 points (3 goals and 11 assists) in the postseason
Zubov likewise played in three Stanley Cup Finals during his career across 13 total playoff appearances (10x Stars, 2x Rangers, 1x Penguins), though he came away with a pair of championships and was in fact one of the first Russian-born players to be immortalized on the Cup:
- 1993-1994: helped the Rangers end a 54-year title drought by prevailing over the Vancouver Canucks in the Finals in a seven-game series; Brian Leetch and Mark Messier were undoubtedly the stars of the show, but Zubov was also productive with personal highs of 5 goals and 14 assists for 19 points and a +10 +/- rating
- 1998-1999: led the Stars to their first-ever Stanley Cup title in six games over Dominik Hasek and the Buffalo Sabres; 1 goal and 12 assists for 13 points and a playoff-best +13 +/- rating
- 1999-2000: Dallas was looking to repeat, but fell in six games to Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils; Zubov had 9 points in the postseason (2 goals and 7 assists)
Internationally, both Gonchar and Zubov represented their country with distinction on the Olympic stage – the former played for Russia and won silver at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and bronze at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City; meanwhile, the latter was part of the Unified Team (i.e. Soviet Union) that took home gold at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Additionally, Gonchar won silver and bronze medals for Russia at a pair of World Championships.
Playoff Statistics
| Sergei Gonchar | Player | Sergei Zubov |
| 141 | Games Played | 164 |
| 22 | Goals | 24 |
| 68 | Assists | 93 |
| 90 | Points | 117 |
| +3 | +/- | +28 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; Gonchar became a bit of a nomadic mercenary later in his career, while Zubov’s role with the Stars diminished with age and mounting injuries. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete, though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Sergei Gonchar | Player | Sergei Zubov |
| 1995-1996, 1999-2004, 2005-2008, 2009-2010 | Decade of Dominance | 1993-1994, 1995-2003, 2005-2006 |
| 753 | Games Played | 770 |
| 155 | Goals | 111 |
| 421 | Assists | 458 |
| 576 | Points | 569 |
| +52 | +/- | +149 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
When you take away Gonchar’s longevity advantage and focus on each player’s 10 best years, their scoring totals are remarkably close; again, Gonchar was the more prolific goal-scorer and had more total points, but Zubov was a better set-up man and better two-way play/a superior surrounding cast results in him having a better +/- rating. On a per-game basis, this time, Gonchar comes out slightly ahead at 0.76 vs. 0.74 points per game.
My Thoughts
For better or for worse, in debates about great defensemen, it seems like the focus is often on offensive numbers – in that case, Sergei Gonchar and Sergei Zubov were certainly among the best blueliners of their generation (which included the likes of the aforementioned Lidstrom, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, etc.). From a goals and points perspective, yes, Gonchar has the higher career totals, but it can be argued that Zubov was actually a better offensive defenseman given his higher scoring rate. Moreover, I would argue that Zubov was the superior all-around defenseman and a worthy Hall of Famer – at worst equal offensively to Gonchar, but a better defender in his own zone (see his far better career +/- rating) and a key cog in leading the Stars to their first (and thus far, only) Stanley Cup. Having said all of that, I believe that Gonchar is likewise deserving of the Hockey Hall of Fame – to me, as an elite offensive blueliner, he is the Phil Housley of his generation (another Hall of Fame blueliner) and has all of the necessary credentials (statistics, All-Star selections, Stanley Cup, international success, etc.).
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Sergei Zubov
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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