Goligoski retires from NHL after 17 seasons
Goligoski retires from NHL after 17 seasons
Defenseman played 1,078 regular-season games, won Stanley Cup with Penguins in 2009
© Harry How/Getty Images
Alex Goligoski retired from the NHL on Thursday after 17 seasons.
The 39-year-old defenseman had 475 points (87 goals, 388 assists) in 1,078 regular-season games for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild. He had 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 47 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Goligoski signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Wild on July 28, 2021, and played the final three seasons of his NHL career near his native Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He had 10 assists and was minus-8 in 36 games last season.
“I think I’ve known for a while,” Goligoski told The Athletic. “Do you hang around and see if some team wants to throw some money at you? I have no desire to move my family. No desire to go by myself and do all that. That’s the most amazing thing about finishing in Minnesota. It makes it easier to say, ‘Hey, I’m good.’
“I think it’s the longevity of it, honestly. I can totally see where it’d be very difficult if you’re not planning on being done, where it’s like you don’t get a contract but you’re still younger. It feels to me like I’ve had my fun, I’ve done it long enough. I’m good to step away and move on.”
Goligoski was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (No. 61) of the 2004 NHL Draft and played 45 regular-season games and two postseason games to get his name on the Cup after Pittsburgh’s seven-game win against the Detroit Red Wings. He was traded to the Stars by the Penguins for James Neal and Matt Niskanen on Feb. 21, 2011, and signed a five-year contract with the Coyotes on June 22, 2016, six days after he was sent to Arizona by Dallas.
He played his 1,000th NHL game for the Wild, a 4-3 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 20, 2022.
