Pens-Stars Deal: Neal, Niskanen & Goligoski

Dallas sends James Neal and Matt Niskanen to Pittsbrugh for the Penguins' Alex Goligoski. Fantasy Impact: hard to imagine that the Pens were able to get two young, still improving guys in Neal and Niskanen for Alex Goligoski. It's not that Goligoski is not good, he's a very good offensive defenceman, but his stats are likely to take a longer term downturn as he'll play on the less talented Stars PP. For the Stars this may be also an attempt to clear some cap space with the hope of being able to sign Mike Richards. Goligoski still has two years left on a less than $2M per season, while Neal has just one year at $3.5M and Niskanen is owed $1.75M. Niskanen has had a brutal year offensively, but had 35+ points only two seasons ago. If Neal plays with Crosby upon his return you can expect Neal to flirt with 40 goals. Pens seem to win this deal, hands down.