Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski retires after 17 NHL seasons

The 39-year-old was a standout player at Grand Rapids and with the Gophers, and won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 6, 2024 at 5:42AM
Defenseman Alex Goligoski played the past three season for the Wild. (Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Alex Goligoski, who played the last three of his 17 NHL seasons with the Wild, retired from the NHL on Thursday.

The veteran defenseman is from Grand Rapids and was an all-conference player for the Gophers before starting his NHL career.

He also played for the Penguins, Stars and Coyotes and had 87 goals and 388 assists in 1,078 games. He was a +55 during his career, and averaged 21 minutes, 55 seconds of ice time.

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Goligoski was a second-round pick by Pittsburgh in the 2004 draft and won a Stanley Cup as a rookie with the Penguins in 2009. He was traded to Dallas in 2011 and played there until signing with the Coyotes in 2016.

The 39-year-old was in 36 games with the Wild last season. In 2021-22, his first season in Minnesota, he was a +41 after signing as a replacement for Ryan Suter, whose contract was bought out.

He scored an overtime goal in his 1,000th NHL game.

Goligoski’s two-year, $4 million contract expired after last season. The retirement was first reported by The Athletic.

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