Wild Defenseman Alex Goligoski Retires After 17 NHL Seasons

Minnesota Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski announced his retirement from the NHL on Thursday. The Minnesota native started his career in Pittsburgh after playing three seasons of College Hockey with the Minnesota Gophers.

He has now ended his NHL career after 17 seasons. Including the final three in Minnesota. 

Goligoski, 39, signed a one-year contract with the with for the 2021-22 season at age 36. He recorded two goals, 28 assists, 30 points, and was a plus-41. 

The Wild then signed Goligoski to a two-year contract extension which turned out to be his final two years in the NHL. One of the coolest moments from the 2022-23 season was Goligoski's 1,000th NHL game celebration. 

The veteran defenseman was in the midst of being scratched by the Wild but he played in the Wild's home game against the Carolina Hurricanes on November 19th, 2022, which was his 1,000th game celebration.

In a 1-1 overtime game against the Hurricanes, Goligoski went over the boards with Freddy Gaudreau and Sam Steel. Gaudreau went rinkside to Steel who later found Goligoski streaking in for a partial breakaway. 

The rest is history. 

Goligoski played in 36 games last year for the Wild and spent most of the season as a healthy scratch. He played in the team's final couple of games and even wore the assistant captain's patch for the final game of the season against the Seattle Kraken at home. He also got a solo lap for warmups. 

The Minnesota native finished his Wild career with four goals, 42 assists, and 46 points in 154 games. His NHL career ends with 87 goals, 388 assists, and 475 points in 1,078 games. He won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009.