Hello all! Today I want to talk to you about Alex Goligoski (or GoGo as he is affectionately called by teammates and fans alike) and why you need to pick him up in your fantasy hockey league whether it is a rotisserie or head to head league. If you are not a Penguins fan you may not even know who Goligoski is but make no mistake; he is quietly becoming one of the best defenseman in the league, both offensively and defensively. Here are the top five reasons you need GoGo on your team.
- Through twenty games Goligoski has recorded six goals and eight assists, tieing him for 16th in NHL D-man scoring.
- He gets plenty of powerplay duty on the first line. Its hard not to record points on the power play when you have the likes of Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar on your powerplay. He has five PP points so far.
- He is a +11 on the year and was at one time leading all defenseman in that category. He will also pick up some penalty minutes sporting 6 PIMS total for the season.
- Has shown he has “slippery shoulders” or the knack for not taking any big hits which means you can rely on him being healthy most of the time.
- And last but not least, he plays for a cup contending Penguins team who utilize the point shot, something that Goligoski excels at.
And there you have it, the five reasons you need Alex Goligoski on your team. At this time I would not count on him being your top defenseman but I believe he is an above average second option and a great third option in all leagues. I of course strongly recommend him in any keeper league being that he is only twenty-four and learning under one of the greatest point man of our time in Sergei Gonchar.
At a 70% owned rate (in Yahoo leagues) GoGo may not be on your league’s free agent list but this may be a good time to try and trade for him since he has been injured awhile.
November 26th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Great article Ryan. I drafted Letang thinking he would be the go-to guy alongside Gonchar offensively but he’s taken a more defensive role.
I made sure I got Goligoski off the wire very early, but your right about non-Pens fans not hearing about his production, you’d have to have been checking the stats to profit.
He also played over 40 regular season games last year, so he deserves all the time he’s been getting!
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November 26th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Good article! I luckily got him this year before the season even started.
On a new Goligoski related note, is there any word on when he is going to return? or why they have yet to place him on the IR?
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November 26th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Haha, agreed! I made sure to pick up GoGo with my last draft pick in my two fantasy drafts. He’s great. The Pens offense certainly utilizes their offensive defensemen, so owning Gonchar, Letang or Goligoski is a good idea.
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November 26th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Steve: no news on Goligoski. It was announced on Nov.16 that he would miss two to three weeks with a lower body injury.
If he was close to return the Pens website would say he was practicing, even with the red jersey.
They said that Letang and Kennedy has been cleared for contact, but that Goligoski and Kunitz haven’t even practiced yet.
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