The Arizona Coyotes are reported to be nearing a five year deal with recently acquired defenseman Alex Goligoski.
Arizona Coyotes General Manager John Chayka has been a busy man in his first month in charge in the desert. Busier than many expected, to be sure.
Tonight reports from around the league, including TSN’s Bob McKenzie, have the young executive nearing a deal with unrestricted free agent defenseman Alex Goligoski.
Chayka acquired the rights to Goligoski from the Dallas Stars for a 5th round pick in this year’s 2016 NHL Draft.
It was a shrewd move by the new general manager and Head Coach Tippett.
Chayka and co. gave up a late round pick that will most likely not come back to haunt the Yotes, and gambled on his ability to convince a good puck-moving, though aging defender that life and hockey in the desert is looking up.
The contract has yet to be signed, but it certainly looks like the gamble has paid off.
The Contract
ESPN’s Craig Custance reported that Goligoski is set to receive a five year, $5.5M per year deal with the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan confirmed the reports and said the deal is likely to be announced tomorrow.
For a defender who has already crested age thirty, $5.5M per year may be a tough swallow. This is the same defenseman who was derided by his own fans in Dallas as Alex “Goalagainstski”, after all.
In my experience, however, puck-moving defensemen often receive this kind of angst from fans regardless of what the underlying stats may tell us.
We witness and have witnessed the same kind of calls from Twitter and the stands in regards to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and former Coyote Keith Yandle.
The Arizona Coyotes struggled mightily defensively when Oliver Ekman-Larsson wasn’t on the ice.
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Goligoski gives Dave Tippett the ability to ice a second set of defenders that can actually move the puck out of their own end and relieve some of the pressure on Mike Smith and Louis Domingue.
How good or bad the contract looks largely depends on how he’s deployed, and how gracefully he continues to age.
For next season, however, he will be a huge improvement over some of the names that skated behind OEL and Connor Murphy in the lineup.
The Significance
Alex Goligoski didn’t decide to sign on with the Arizona Coyotes because he loves 110 degree plus weather.
He probably doesn’t even like “Howlin’ For You”. He did like the numbers that new General Manager John Chayka offered him, however, and that is significant.
Ownership said after Don Maloney’s firing that Maloney had more money to spend, he just chose not to. Chayka isn’t planning on being so conservative with IceArizona’s coffers.
Next: Chayka And Coyotes Need To Secure A Top Scoring Veteran Forward
This Goligoski contract isn’t just a sign that the Coyotes want to win sooner rather than later.
It’s a message to the players on the roster and the fans in the stands that business is about to pick up in Glendale.