Clayton Keller is coming off a career year but it seems his glory days with the Arizona Coyotes are just beginning.
The Arizona Coyotes All-Star forward Clayton Keller is committed to staying in the Valley long term.
Despite some uncertainty surrounding the future of the franchise in Arizona, Keller remains confident and feels the Coyotes organization is the best possible place for him to continue his career.
“We have great people in our organization and on our coaching staff… I’ve always been a loyal guy and I don’t believe the grass is always greener somewhere else,” Keller said at the 2023 NHL Awards to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan.
The 24-year-old is coming off a career year where he had 37 goals, 49 assists and 86 points.
Keller is entering his prime at the perfect time. He is the cornerstone of a Coyotes team that has been rebuilding and accumulated a ton of young assets. In the matter of a couple years, Keller could be surrounded with talented young players including Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Conor Geekie and Dmitri Simashev.
If the Coyotes are successful in finding a new arena in Arizona, Keller feels that the hockey market in the Valley will only grow stronger.
"It's great to be a Coyote," Keller said at the NHL Awards via NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. "I love living there and the team we have, so hopefully everything works out. … I just think it's such a great hockey market. Especially if we do get a (new) arena, I think it's going to be one of the best places to play in the League. I do believe that.”
Keller has the talent to truly mark himself as one of the greatest Coyotes players to ever put on the uniform when it's all set and done. It seems that this is just the beginning of what can be considered the Keller era in Arizona.