This Is Not A Drill; Phil The Thrill Has Been Traded To The Desert
The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded forward Phil Kessel, Dane Birks and a 2021 4th round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Alex Galchenyuk. The move comes after months of speculation and rumors of Kessel reportedly being on the trade block. A surprising move on the Coyotes behalf, who only traded for Galchenyuk less than a year ago.
Seriously, nothing like a nice Saturday night blockbuster trade to get you going. I like this move for two reasons. I think Galchenyuk will do fantastic in Pitt. If he can’t figure his shit out playing with Sid and Geno then this kid is a lost cause. I also like this move for the mere fact that Biz will now have full access to Phil Kessel. Anytime he wants he can go stick a camera in Phil’s face and get some A+ content. So I imagine this will benefit Spittin’ Chiclets greatly (hopefully).
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The problem isn’t with Kessel’s game, he is coming off a season where he played in all 82 games, had 82 points (27g, 55a) which is the 2nd highest point total of his career. I think his schtick just runs try at some point and that point has finally come in Pitt.
Galchenyuk on the other hand is still looking to figure his game out. The 2012 3rd overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens is coming off a season in which he only had 44 points (19g, 22a). Not a bad year, but a 3rd overall pick should be putting up more points than that, especially with the skill this kid has. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native will have a good opportunity for a clean slate for his career in Pittsburgh and will have the chance to get things back on track.
What a run for Phil in Pittsburgh too. Two Stanley cups? Is that good? Can’t wait to see this legend bring Arizona to the top of the hockey world.