gold star for USAHOF

24. Phil Kessel

24. Phil Kessel

Despite the fact that he was a proven scorer with the Maple Leafs, he was not a fan-favorite in Toronto, and as the Leafs were looking to rebuild anyway, Kessel was shopped around in the summer of 2015.  They found a taker in Pittsburgh, and it turned out to be one of the smartest transactions that the Penguins ever made.

In the first year that Phil Kessel arrived in Pennsylvania, he scored 59 Points, which, while decent, would pale to his playoffs.  That year, Kessel would score 22 Points in the playoffs and lead the post-season in power-play goals.  He would repeat that with a 70 Point season, a second Stanley Cup, and would again finish first on post-season power play goals.

That would be the end of Kessel's Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh (though how can he complain about two!), but he would then have two of the best regular seasons of his career.  Kessel had a personal best of 92 Points in 2017-18, with a follow-up of 82 Points the season after.  That season, Kessel would lead the NHL in Game Winning Goals with 10.  He would be traded to the Arizona Coyotes later.

Kessel’s numbers with Pittsburgh would see him score 303 Points in 328 Games.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Right Wing
  • Acquired: Traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs with Tim Erixon, Tyler Biggs and the previously acquired Pittsburgh’s 2016 2nd Round Pick (which would be Kasper Bjorkqvist) for Nick Spailing, Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, Pittsburgh’s 2016 1st Round Pick (which would later be traded to Anaheim who selected Sam Steel) and the previously acquired 2016 3rd Round Pick from New Jersey (which would be James Greenway) 7/1/15.
  • Departed: Traded to the Arizona Coyotes with Dane Birks and Pittsburgh’s 2021 4th Round Pick for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Olivier Joseph 6/28/19.
  • Games Played: 328
  • Notable Statistics: 110 Goals
    193 Assists
    303 Points
    102 PIM
    .92 PPG
    -11 Plus/Minus
    32.3 Point Shares

    65 Playoff Games
    20 Goals
    36 Assists
    56 Points
    10 PIM
    .86 PPG
    +11 Plus/Minus
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    Stanley Cup Champion (2016 & 2017)
    Most Game-Winning Goals (2018-19)

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