Phil Kessel discussing a contract with a Western Conference team, after Oilers deal falls through
The Calgary Flames have had an off-season to remember. On the opening day of Free Agency, long time Flame and their leading scorer from last season Johnny Gaudreau signed a seven year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Next, it was Matthew Tkachuk who told the team he won't be staying long-term, triggering a trade nobody expected Calgary to win. Then came the blockbuster deal to the Florida Panthers for a haul including Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a first-round pick in 2025. Huberdeau extended not long after. Oliver Kylington and Andrew Mangiapane avoided arbitration.
Flames GM Brad Treliving's next move was to trade Sean Monahan to free up cap space to sign Nazem Kadri to a seven year deal. Calgary currently has $2,136,667 available in cap space.
The Flames are set down the middle. Elias Lindholm, Kadri, and Mikael Backlund form an excellent group of centres in Calgary, arguably the best this team has had since it won the Stanley Cup in 1989.
On the wing Flames have Jonathan Huberdeau who is a superstar. Andrew Mangiapane is a proven scorer in the league. Tyler Toffoli and Blake Coleman both have strong track records of excellent two-way play. They could use a little more scoring punch from the wing.
Eric Francis of Sportsnet believes the Flames are not done adding to their roster yet. Sources have begun to list Phil Kessel as a potential fit for the Flames.
Kessel has been a consistent performer whenever his teams have qualified for the playoffs during his career. The 34-year-old right wing has 34 goals and 81 points in 96 career post-season contests with the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Arizona
At this point in his career, Kessel is a one-dimensional (and surprisingly speedy) offensive forward who can be a major asset to a team's power play. He picked up 14 PP points with the Coyotes last season and played a crucial role as a distributor off the wall.
The six-time 30-goal scorer racked up 52 points in 82 games with Arizona last season, but only eight of those points were goals.
Kessel is long removed from being the first line winger during his days in Toronto and Pittsburgh. but could fit nicely further down the lineup and provide the Flames with a power play specialist.
There seems to be a fit on the Flames roster for Kessel. They have the cap space to make it work. Would a 1 year $1.5 million deal be enough to entice Kessel to bring his talents to the Scotiabank Saddledome?
| POLL | ||
If you were Brad Treliving would you sign Phil Kessel? | ||
| Yes, proven goal scorer and Stanley Cup experience | 148 | 59.7 % |
| No, there are better options out there | 100 | 40.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
