Pens Deal Goligoski to Dallas for James Neal, Matt Niskanen

Ray Shero was busy shuffling the deck for another Cup run today, trading 25-year-old defenseman Alex Goligoski to Dallas for LW James Neal, 23, and D Matt Niskanen, age 24. And to answer your next question, yes, that would be the same Niskanen who fought Sidney Crosby this past November. Niskanen was a 2005 1st-round pick and had six assists in 45 games in 2010-11. He is signed through next season at a cap hit of $1.5 million, and goes 6'0", 200 pounds. Neal, a 2nd-rounder in '05, has notched 21 goals and 18 assists thus far in the '10-'11 campaign for the Stars and should fit in nicely with the Penguins. He's been a 20-goal scorer in each of his three NHL seasons and , like Niskanen, is also signed through the end of next season, although at a higher rate of $2.875 million. Goligoski, a member of the 2008-09 Stanley Cup champion Penguins team, has nine goals and 22 assists in 60 games with the Pens this season. Like the other two players involved in the d...