Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka has acquired the negotiating rights to unrestricted free agent Alex Goligoski from the Dallas Stars for a 2016 fifth round draft pick.
The John Chayka era is underway for the Arizona Coyotes as the new general manager made his first notable move Thursday afternoon.
The Yotes have traded their 2016 fifth round draft pick (128th pick overall) for the negotiating rights to 30-year-old Dallas Stars defender Alex Goligoski.
The risk is pretty minimal for Chayka and Arizona.
It’s not often a fifth round pick is going to turn around and bite a team in the behind.
On the contrary, the chance to acquire an upgrade on defense that would likely slot immediately onto the team’s second pairing for next to nothing is well worth the attempt.
And boy, do the Arizona Coyotes need help on defense.
Alex Goligoski scored 5 goals and had 32 assists for a total of 37 points in 2015-16. The total would’ve tied him for 8th most on the team with Tobias Rieder. Not too shabby.
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Goligoski is an unrestricted free agent, however, which means that John Chayka, Dave Tippett, and ownership have to sell the defender on the future of the team in order to secure his services moving forward.
Goligoski had a limited no trade clause in his contract, which makes his arrival in Arizona a bit surprising. Perhaps he is interested in what the franchise is building.
The Stars were unable to retain Goligoski due to salary cap issues and took the chance to get something before the veteran walked. He was expected to be a decently hot commodity in free agency this offseason, so that order may be a bit taller than anticipated on the monetary front.
The Yotes have no such salary cap issues, at least not externally, so it’s simply up to what Alex Goligoski wants and what the Coyotes are willing to pay. The team has until June 25th to speak with the defender exclusively, and are the only team that can sign him prior to free agency on July 1st.
Should Chayka and co. secure the services of Goligoski for the next few seasons, the team’s dire situation on defense is suddenly a bit less so.
With Connor Murphy and Oliver Ekman-Larsson locking down the top pairing, Alex Goligoski will slot behind OEL to help anchor down the second pairing. Considering the musical chairs that occurred at times in 2015-16, having another solid two-way option on the blue-line has to have head coach Dave Tippett jumping for joy.
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If John Chayka manages to secure Alex Goligoski’s services, it’ll be a surprising (and promising) start to his tenure as Arizona Coyotes general manager.
Should the veteran defender walk, however, there’s little chance of repercussion.