It's been just over a year since the Dallas Stars locked up defenseman Trevor Daley with a six-year contract extension. Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk announced a similar move on Monday, stating the club had agreed to a four-year extension on fellow blue-liner Alex Goligoski.
"Goose" joined the Stars just under a year ago thanks to a pre-deadline deal with Pittsburgh that sent James Neal and Matt Niskanen to the Steel City in exchange for the Minnesota native. In 36 games this season, the 26-year-old has 15 points (5-10-15) in his fifth NHL season.
He's clearly glad to have the stability that accompanies such an announcement for nothing else but the fact that the entire process is now concluded. "I'm excited that the process is over. It's real exciting to know that for four years I'm going to play here," Goligoski said. "We've got a good group of guys here. Since the second I got here, I felt really comfortable."
This announcement was something that had been in the works for several months. At times, it could be as "Goose" put it, a slow process, but he never had in doubt the extension would ever get done.
"Earlier this year, it was kind of a slow process. They'd talk every several weeks and stuff and things would kind of go on. I think both sides wanted to get it done here," he said. "It's good. I'm glad it's done and I don't have to worry about it."
Dallas head coach Glen Gulutzan has only coached Goligoski for a matter of a few months, but it's clear he's happy to know he's going to have Goligoski manning the blue line for the foreseeable future.
"He's an important part of our puzzle here," Gulutzan said. "You've got an elite defenseman with an attitude to try to get better each day and a great human being. So, what else do you want from a player other than that? To have Goose locked in for four years is a tremendous step for our organization in getting us where we want to go."
But his coach isn't the only one excited about this move, several of his fellow D-men are also stoked to know that the Minnesota native will be sporting a Dallas sweater for at least the next four seasons.
"Great for him, well deserved," Trevor Daley said. "You always think about it. This is our livelihood, what we do here. This is how we choose to live. It was always in the back of his mind. It was in the back of my mind last year. It just gives you a clean slate, a clean head to go out and just play hockey, which is what we love to do anyway."
And even though he has only been in Dallas for right around a year, Goligoski has been in the league long enough that he makes an excellent role model for the Stars' younger defensemen, something rookie blue-liner Philip Larsen can definitely attest to.
"'Goose' is a really good defenseman and is a guy I really look up to. I see what he's doing out there. We're kind of the same players — like having the puck and enjoying the rush," Larsen said. "He's doing really well. It's always nice to have guy on your team you want to play like. I'm really happy for him. He deserves it."
