Former Arizona Coyotes forward and three-time Stanley cup champion Phil Kessel is still looking for a new home heading into the 2023-24 season.
Former Coyotes forward and three-time Stanley Cup champion Phil Kessel is looking to continue his career into the 2023-24 season according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Friedman also added that Kessel has informed teams he is not concerned about being an every-day player despite currently holding the NHL’s iron-man streak with 1,064 consecutive games played.
Should the Coyotes target the 35-year-old veteran forward?
Kessel played in Arizona from 2019-2022 where he had 42 goals, 91 assists and 133 points in 208 games.
While the Coyotes have a lot of depth at the right wing position, there isn’t any risk in signing a player of Kessel’s caliber.
Kessel provides a veteran presence to a young Coyotes team as he can really help mentor some of the rising prospects including Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Barrett Hayton and Matias Maccelli.
Even at his current age, Kessel is still able to produce. During the 2021-22 season, Kessel played a big role for the Coyotes and had a strong statistical season tallying eight goals, 44 assists and 53 points while playing all 82 games.
Kessel played in the Valley just two seasons ago so he still has connections with some current players on the team as well as people in the organization.
There are no signs toward the Coyotes signing Kessel at this moment but nonetheless it is still a move that makes sense and one they should consider heading into training camp.