NHL Network names Coyotes’ Phil Kessel a top-20 winger in the NHL
Aug 12, 2019, 3:20 PM
FILE - In this March 19, 2019, file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins' Phil Kessel (81) brings the puck upice after taking it away from Carolina Hurricanes' Brock McGinn (23) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C. The Arizona Coyotes acquired high-scoring winger Kessel on Saturday, June 29, 2019, in a deal that sends center Alex Galchenyuk to the Penguins. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker, File)
(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker, File)
The Arizona Coyotes added one of the top players at his position this offseason in acquiring winger Phil Kessel.
According to two different rankings by NHL Network and a fan vote, Kessel ranked as either the 20th or 17th best winger in the NHL.
Kessel finished with 82 points last year, including 55 assists. His 55 assists alone would have ranked as the top scorer on the Coyotes ahead of Clayton Keller who logged 47 total points in 2019.
League-wide, Kessel finished tied for 23rd in total points and tied for 18th in assists. Taking away centers and defenseman would have launched the 31-year-old, 13-year veteran even higher on the lists.
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The Coyotes traded for Kessel in June along with Dane Birks and a fourth-round draft pick in 2021 for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Oliver Joseph.
He was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Pittsburgh Penguins and helped Team USA to a silver medal in the 2010 Olympics.
He enters the season with the third-longest active consecutive games played streak in the NHL with 774 trailing only former Coyote Keith Yandle, now with the Florida Panthers, and Patrick Marleau, who is currently a free agent.
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