PHIL KESSEL WINS STANLEY CUP

[Bates]

Fun stat posted by HNIC on their social media channels today:

Phil Kessel played in the most games in the 2010s decade; 787. He didn't miss a single game.

(He also had the second most shots in the decade quite a long way behind Ovechkin)

Phil has missed quite a few games this season.....but he is in the lineup. He has been nothing short of terrible in AZ.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/burkie2020/status/1245857191912861696
https://twitter.com/burkie2020/status/1245857674010361861

[Highlander]

And he can do the Kesselrun in three parsecs.

[L K]

Good to see Burke wanting to defend his players.  Too bad he never bothered to find a good defensive forward to put on his line to do that for him on the ice. 

[Highlander]

Weird, my son and I were standing in our front driveway yesterday and a black Cadillac Escalade drove past, we both had a real good look at the driver and could have sworn it was Phil.  Not sure but the NHL players love the Okanagan valley area. Whoever it was was scoping the area, perhaps looking at some lots.

[Deebo]

Phil's current consecutive game played streak is up to 915 games now. He just passed Gary Unger for 3rd all-time.

#2 is Yandle, his streak is still active and is 20 games longer at 935, while #1 is Doug Jarvis at 964.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/azcoyotespr/status/1501357003779842051
For unto us a child is born!

Not sure what this means for his game streak

[Guilt Trip]

https://twitter.com/azcoyotespr/status/1501357003779842051
For unto us a child is born!

Not sure what this means for his game streak

He played 30 seconds and left. The streak continues until Thursday when they're supposed to be here.

[Joe]

So is Kessel's career over?

[CarltonTheBear]

So is Kessel's career over?

He needs 8 games to pass Yandle for 1st on the all-time consecutive games played streak, and is just 18 away from hitting the 1000 game mark for that. Presumably he's looking for a team that'll be willing to help facilitate that a little bit, and I don't really blame him. But that's just less than 2 months of hockey before he could potentially transition into a guy that could take a healthy scratch here and there.

Although unlike Yandle last season Kessel does seem to be providing some value still. 52 points at this stage of his career, and on the team he was on, is nothing to be ashamed of. And that's with a career low shooting percentage. He shot 4.6% last season, his career average is 10.8 and his rates in his previous two seasons with Arizona were 9.2% and 17.4%. Don't think it's crazy to think he could still be a 50 point player under the right circumstances. His underlying numbers were less than stellar though, and while it's still difficult to really know how much of that is just on playing for an awful team it goes without saying he'll need some sheltering on whatever team he goes to.

[Joe]

I also think he's a goal away from 400.

But I am surprised no one has taken a low dollar chance on him. I know he's a defensive black hole, but last I saw he still has speed and is still a good passer. You think he's fit in any team's bottom 6.

[Nik]

You maybe wonder with a guy like Kessel if it's also a bit of him waiting to see what shakes loose and getting to pick his spot. With the money he's made and career he's had, if he's going to take a cheap contract he can probably afford(in every sense of the word) to wait things out and see what his options are if what's on the table now is a little too Winnipeg-y for his taste.