The first Pens rumor for the deadline that has me intrigued. I have long argued about the value many seem to miss with regard to Alex Goligoski, and still feel that way. He is young, he is cap friendly, and he is the fifth leading scorer on a scoring starved team, who, by the way has four game winning goals. Did I forget that he has something like a +20 also? Or that he is +34 for his career? He also has one year left on his deal, so when locals call for his trade for just about any half decent winger, I love roughing them up and proving even to them that they are not too bright. If you take his cap hit of 1.8, along with his current production, and possible upside, he is a very valuable commodity that you just don't trade away unless you have an opportunity to make a huge move for the club. The Penguins have the best top 5 defensemen in hockey for my money, with Orpik, Letang, Martin, and Michalek untouchables. Lovejoy and Engellend are solid 6th and 7th defensemen. If you add to that the fact that the Pens are very high on a bigger puck moving defenseman, Simon Despres, along with several AHL prospects with big upside such as Bortuzzo, Strait, Sneep, and Samuelsson you can see how Goose is an asset that you COULD move if you got a game changing WINGER in return, young, with term left on his deal. Hello James Neal, of the Dallas Stars! Would you like to see a 6'2" 208 lb winger, in only his third year, who hits, goes to the net, and has posted 24 and 27 goals his first two years, and is pacing for 30 in his third land on the Penguins? Would you like it if he had another year left on his contract, which is fairly cap friendly at 2.85? Well, the Dallas Stars are in need of a young quality puck moving defenseman, and they have a ton of forward depth. The Penguins are in need of a young winger who can finish plays, and they have a ton of defensive depth. They are in opposite conferences, so they don't play each other much. Sounds like a match made in heaven! If Iam the Pens, I make this deal unless Dallas is looking for a significant secondary asset. I think it has merits as a straight up deal, but we shall see. I do think that the Pens will need to add a veteran defenseman as part of this deal or a minor secondary deal to fill in the gap this year, but that is very doable! This is one deal that I like that would involve moving Goligoski.

ADDENDUM: Not only did Shero get this done without ADDING other assets, he got a serviceable young defenseman in Niskanen as part of the deal. He was a number one draft pick, who is only 23 years old. He had 35 points in his first year, 24 and his second, but struggled this season with only 6 assists thus far. The change of scenery may make him a perfect fit for this season, or he could be packaged as part of a secondary deal. Either way, good value for the Goose, whom I will miss a great deal. This may make the need for Kovalev higher, as he could replace some of the power play production from the point that the Pens will lose with Goligoski's departure. Godspeed Goose!