Wild sign veteran defenseman Alex Goligoski to 1-year, $5 million deal
Jul. 28—It took the Wild about 10 minutes to find a replacement for veteran defenseman Ryan Suter.
Not long after the 36-year-old Suter officially signed with the Dallas Stars on Wednesday morning, the Wild picked up Alex Goligoski, 35, on a 1-year, $5 million contract, a source confirmed to the Pioneer Press. It's likely that Goligoski will slide in alongside captain Jared Spurgeon on the top pairing next season.
This deal was hardly a surprise as Goligoski's interest in the Wild was widely reported in the days leads leading up to NHL free agency. He was born in Grand Rapids, Minn., and starred for the University of Minnesota in the mid-2000s.
Asked why he he chose the Wild, the 35-year-old defenseman got straight to the point.
"It's home," Goligoski said. "I think everyone has that desire to play for their home state at some point."
Plus, as Goligoski noted, the Wild are in the upswing as a team.
"It seems like they had that same team for so long," Goligoski said. "There's not many of those guys still here. There's a lot of new guys and they're playing a fast aggressive style. I really enjoyed watching and I can't wait to be a part of."
This is the first time in Goligoski's career that he reached free agency and it doesn't sound like he has any interesting it doing it again.
"I didn't enjoy it very much at all," Goligoski said. "It was a little stressful. You're getting calls from the agent every day with different stuff going on. You just kind of want the day to get there and see the options and make a decision and get excited about it and move on."
While this isn't the splashiest signing by any means, Goligoski will fill a valuable role for the Wild next season. He has played 924 games in his 14-year NHL career for Pittsburgh, Dallas, and most recently Arizona. He put up 22 points (3 goals, 19 assists) in 56 games with the Coyotes last season.
In addition to Goligoski, the Wild added some depth up front, signing center Frederick Gaudreau to a 2-year, $2.4 million contract. There's some history with this signing as the 28-year-old Gaudreau played for Wild coach Dean Evason during their time together with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. He plays in the middle, which is valuable in and of itself, and should fill a role in the bottom half of the lineup.
"I think I've always been a guy that I feel the coach can trust on the ice," Gaudreau said. "I'm a guy that can shut down big lines and I also can contribute offensively when needed. I've always prided myself on being really versatile. I work hard at trying to get better in many aspects of my game whether it's the skills or speed. Just to be more of a complete player. That's what I'm going to try to bring there."
As for Goligoski, the obvious prize of the day for the Wild, if things go well next season, it sounds like he wouldn't mind staying in the Twin Cities for good.
"We will see how it goes," Goligoski said. "I think it's going to be a great fit."
