from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

The Panthers and Coyotes could have waited until Saturday, the opening of the NHL’s interview period, to speak with Keith Yandle and Alex Goligoski. It would have cost them nothing to do so.

Instead, rookie GMs Tom Rowe and John Chayka took proactive measures to enter exclusive negotiating periods with both defensemen by acquiring their rights. Their respective trades (a 2016 sixth-rounder and a 2017 fourth-rounder for Yandle, a 2016 fifth-rounder for Goligoski) were worthwhile assets for the freedom to get their claws on their pursuits before their competitors.

Whether their contracts will be worthwhile is another story.

Yandle is laughing all the way to the bank after netting a seven-year, $44.45 million blockbuster. The Milton native will be 36 years old in the final season of his contract. While Yandle should be a good offensive defenseman for the win-now Panthers, his deal may not be so team-friendly closer to its conclusion....

But Yandle’s five-on-five performance cannot be qualified as dependable. Like others in his segment of puck-moving defenseman, he makes risky plays that blow up in his face. In five-on-five action in 2015-16, according to www.corsica.hockey, Yandle averaged 0.99 points per 60 minutes of play, the second-lowest rate of his career. It’s debatable whether Yandle has the defensive chops to execute the grunt work for Gerard Gallant, who insists on defensive accountability. Yet the Panthers had no trouble giving Yandle a higher average annual value than Brent Burns.

Goligoski did not strike it as rich as Yandle. The ex-Star signed a five-year, $27.375 million deal with Arizona, where he will complement No. 1 defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. But it is a fair valuation for the consistent Goligoski, who can provide some of Yandle’s skills and amplify others, albeit with less flair. Goligoski scored five goals and 32 assists while averaging 23:50 of ice time last year, including 2:20 on the penalty kill and 1:57 on the power play.

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