Phil Kessel (82GP-8G-44A)
Phil Kessel has been throughout his career a very skilled right winger. Last season he took a dip in the goal category though. This is why I think that he is still available in the open market. Teams are worried that he is no longer that type of player.
| Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | BOS | 70 | 11 | 18 | 29 | -12 | 12 |
| 2007-08 | BOS | 82 | 19 | 18 | 37 | -6 | 28 |
| 2008-09 | BOS | 70 | 36 | 24 | 60 | 23 | 16 |
| 2009-10 | TOR | 70 | 30 | 25 | 55 | -8 | 21 |
| 2010-11 | TOR | 82 | 32 | 32 | 64 | -20 | 24 |
| 2011-12 | TOR | 82 | 37 | 45 | 82 | -10 | 20 |
| 2012-13 | TOR | 48 | 20 | 32 | 52 | -3 | 18 |
| 2013-14 | TOR | 82 | 37 | 43 | 80 | -5 | 27 |
| 2014-15 | TOR | 82 | 25 | 36 | 61 | -34 | 30 |
| 2015-16 | PIT | 82 | 26 | 33 | 59 | 9 | 18 |
| 2016-17 | PIT | 82 | 23 | 47 | 70 | 3 | 20 |
| 2017-18 | PIT | 82 | 34 | 58 | 92 | -4 | 36 |
| 2018-19 | PIT | 82 | 27 | 55 | 82 | -19 | 28 |
| 2019-20 | ARI | 70 | 14 | 24 | 38 | -21 | 22 |
| 2020-21 | ARI | 56 | 20 | 23 | 43 | -17 | 12 |
| 2021-22 | ARI | 82 | 8 | 44 | 52 | -24 | 40 |
| Career | 16 yrs | 1204 | 399 | 557 | 956 | -148 | 372 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com:
Generated 7/25/2022.
To me if I am Ken Holland I am willing to take a chance on Kessel. Yes, he only scored 8 goals in 82 games last season, but in the season before he scored 20 goals in 56 games. I would be willing to bet that last season was just a one season dip.
Not only that, he is also a 2 time Stanley Cup champion. In those two playoff runs he scored a total of 18. In his total of 96 playoff games Kessel has scored 34 goals. That’s not to bad for a play who is likely going to end up costing you around $2 million.
This deal makes even more sense considering both Yamamoto and Puljujarvi are heading to salary arbitration and that the Edmonton Oilers may look at trading one of them if the cap hit ends up being too high.
If the Edmonton Oilers are unable to keep both Puljujarvi and Yamamoto then I personally think that Kessel is a solid plan B. If not for a plan B then having Kessel on your third line right winger for about $2 million isn’t the worst thing to happen.