Alex Goligoski

Alexander Goligoski (born July 30, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his NHL career, he has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the organization that drafted him in the second round, 61st overall, in 2004, the Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes. He was part of the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup championship team.

Playing career

Amateur

Goligoski was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round from Grand Rapids High School (Thunderhawks), 61st overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, Goligoski played college hockey at Minnesota from 2004 to 2007, where he was assistant captain with Kellen Briggs. In 2004–05, he was named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team. In 2005–06, he was named to the All-WCHA Second Team.

Professional

Pittsburgh Penguins

He began his professional career with the Penguins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2007. Goligoski was then recalled by Pittsburgh on February 5, 2008, and played his first NHL game against the Boston Bruins on February 13. After being returned to Wilkes-Barre, he again later recalled by Pittsburgh, registering his first point, an assist, on March 1 against the Ottawa Senators.

Due to injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, Goligoski began the 2008–09 season on the roster for Pittsburgh. He scored his first NHL goal in his first game that season against Alex Auld of the Ottawa Senators. On November 13, Goligoski scored on his first shootout attempt of his career; the goal won the game for the Penguins. He was a member of the 2009 Stanley Cup-winning Penguins team.

On June 15, 2009, Goligoski signed a three-year, $5.5 million extension with the Penguins.

Dallas Stars

On February 21, 2011, Goligoski was traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for left winger James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen. He made his debut with the team two days later where he logged 23:34 of ice time and recorded one shot on goal. As the Stars began a playoff push, Goligoski saw increased ice time per game and often played over 30 minutes. Over his 23 games with Dallas, Goligoski averaged 26:04 of ice time per game and contributed five goals, three on the power play, and 15 points over that span. Following the 2010–11 season, Goligoski was invited to play for the United States at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. He declined, however, because he had not had much off-time in the past few seasons.

Goligoski returned to the Dallas Stars for the 2011–12 season, his first full season with the team. He began the season strong, quickly resuming his pace from the previous season. As the Stars maintained a winning 11–5–0 record, he ranked second among Dallas defensemen in scoring with two goals and four assists. However, after breaking his thumb on November 11, Goligoski was placed on injured reserve by the Stars. Despite missing 11 games, Goligoski still ranked third among Dallas defensemen upon returning to the lineup on December 8. By mid-January, Goligoski led all teammates in overall time-on-ice per-game as well as power play time-on-ice per-game. While logging these high minutes, he also compiled seven points through 11 games after registering one goal and one assist in the previous 13. His efforts during the season earned him a four-year, $18.4 million contract extension on January 23, 2012. He finished the season leading all Dallas blueliners with nine goals and 30 points although the Stars failed to qualify for the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Goligoski and the Stars played a shortened season starting in January 2013 instead of October 2012. He struggled through the start of the season, tallying three points and a plus-two rating in ten games. As such, he was a healthy scratch on February 6 for the first time since his rookie season in Pittsburgh. Goligoski later credited the early season scratch for helping him better evaluate his game. He returned the lineup the following game and played alongside Jamie Oleksiak as the Stars' top defensive pairing. As the season progressed, Goligoski played an integral role in improving the Stars' 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs chances. By early April, he had accumulated 22 points in 38 games and led the Stars in plus-minus at plus-5. Although he missed a few games in April 2013 due to a fractured bone, Goligoski finished the season with three goals and 24 assists. Goligoski also found good chemistry with Brenden Dillon in the final months of the season that allowed him to free up his own play moving the puck up the ice.

Goligoski improved during the 2013–14 season, finishing third on the team with 42 points. He failed to impress the Stars coaching staff to start the season and was subsequently made a healthy scratch early in October. At the time of the scratch, he had been pointless through eight games and was a minus-10.In an effort to improve the Stars' playing record, Goligoski was tested out on the Stars' fourth line as another forward. Upon returning to the lineup, Goligoski was paired with Jordie Benn as Ruff did not want to change the other defensive pairings. He immediately bounced back following the scratch and maintained a plus-13 rating through November. The defensive partners later changed after Stephane Robidas underwent shoulder surgery in November. Although the team maintained a 12–9–3 record, they were 7–3–1 when Goligoski and Trevor Daley were paired together. Although this was shortlived, as Daley suffered a high ankle sprain in early December, Goligoski continued to see his ice time grow. Once Daley returned, Goligoski upped his scoring abilities and together they quickly set new career highs. Goligoski tallied 28 points over his final 40 games while Daley had 13 points over his final 40 games. From December 3 through April, Goligoski averaged .64 points per game and registered 32 points through 50 games. He finished the regular season third in team scoring behind Benn and Seguin with 42 points while also leading the team in ice time.

Prior to the start of the 2015–16 season, Goligoski was named an alternate captain alongside Vernon Fiddler and captain Jamie Benn.

Arizona Coyotes

On June 16, 2016, the Stars traded his rights to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The Coyotes had 30 days to sign him before he automatically became an unrestricted free agent. Goligoski was eventually signed before the exclusivity window closed, agreeing to a five-year contract with the Coyotes on June 21. Longtime Coyotes defenseman Shane Doan later specifically mentioned Goligoski as one of the reasons he decided to return to the team. Goligoski, Connor Murphy, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson were expected to be the Coyotes defensive core for the 2016–17 season.

Minnesota Wild

Concluding his five-year deal with the Coyotes, Goligoski left as a free agent and extended his career by agreeing to a one-year, $5 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on July 28, 2021.

On March 30, 2022, Goligoski signed a two-year, $4 million dollar contract extension with the Wild.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goligoski, Alex
1985 births
American men's ice hockey defensemen
Arizona Coyotes players
Dallas Stars players
Ice hockey players from Minnesota
Living people
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players
Minnesota Wild players
Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks
Pittsburgh Penguins players
River City Lancers players
Sioux Falls Stampede players
Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Stanley Cup champions
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players
AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans