Stars fans got a look into the future of this team as Alex Goligoski got himself a nice payday yesterday, inking a new contract that’s going to keep in Dallas for the next four years for $18.4 million. His contract will be staggered, earning a little bit more each season. Year 1 – $4.2 million, Year 2 – $4.4 million, Years 3 and 4 – $4.6 million. The cap hit on the team each season will be $4.6 million.
With the deal, the defense of the future seems to be set. Goligoski will be here a while; Trevor Daley is contracted to be on this team till the 2017-2018 season and Stephane Robidas is still under contract until the 2014-2015 season (though I expect him to be traded by then). The years are fine with me, but the money that was just thrown down at Goose’s feet seems a bit much, especially for a guy that hasn’t had a breakout season yet.
A breakdown of his stats:
| Team | Year | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | +/- | TOI per game | PPG | PPA |
| Pit | ’07-’08 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 | 13:56 | 0 | 0 |
| Pit | ’08-’09 | 45 | 6 | 14 | 20 | +5 | 18:18 | 4 | 4 |
| Pit | ’09-’10 | 69 | 8 | 29 | 37 | +7 | 21:25 | 2 | 15 |
| Pit | ’10-’11 | 60 | 9 | 22 | 31 | +20 | 20:46 | 4 | 13 |
| Dal | ’10-’11 | 23 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 26:04 | 3 | 4 |
| Dal | ’11-’12 | 36 | 5 | 10 | 15 | -6 | 22:34 | 2 | 4 |
In his time in Pittsburgh, Goligoski benefited a whole lot from the talent that the Penguins had (IE: Crosby, Malkin, Staal). He’s a fine player, but I continue to think that his points and assists numbers, especially on the power-play, were inflated a bit as a result of the teammates that he had in Pittsburgh.
He’s been the number one power-play quarterback on this team this past season, but hasn’t been able to do much. Whether it’s the system or the guys around him (though that’s tough to fathom with the likes of Benn, Eriksson, Ribeiro, etc…) he’s just not getting the same point totals. He’s also had some trouble staying healthy, something that is absolutely necessary for the number one offensive defensemen on the team.
He’s been a solid player in his short (59 games) Stars career so far, but hasn’t really stood out. Hopefully Dallas can get some more guys around him to help so that he can improve his numbers.
Now I really like Goose and think he’s the type of player that’s really needed on this team, but giving him an average of $4.6 million a year seems a bit much. Then again, this is the team that’s giving Adam Pardy $2 million a year so this deal with Goose might be a bargain. If nothing else, this shows that the new ownership is ready and willing to spend big bucks to try and improve this team. There will be a new CBA after this season though, so this might not be as expensive as previously thought (or it might be more, who knows).
The numbers on his contract ($4.6 million cap hit) puts him around the likes of Jack Johnson, Joni Pitkanen, Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa. Goligoski’s numbers that he put up in Pittsburgh are comparable to what these guys have had since 2008-2009.
Totals for these guys since that season.
Johnson: 253 games, 27 goals, 83 assists and 110 points.
Pitkanen: 235 games, 21 goals, 105 assists and 126 points.
Hamhuis: 272 games, 17 goals, 78 assists and 95 points.
Bieksa: 241 games, 24 goals, 89 assists and 113 points.
Goligoski: 233 games, 33 goals, 85 assists and 118 points.
Again, being in Pittsburgh helps a lot, but I really hope that Goose can start to put up some numbers again. Until then, I’ll approach this contract with some trepidation because he’ll need to stay healthy and be around the top 15 in scoring defensemen to make this deal worth it.
