Possible acquisition for the Oilers: another former 92-point scorer alongside Connor McDavid?
It's been about three weeks since the NHL's free agent market opened and there are still several big names who have yet to sign a contract.
Nazem Kadri comes to mind, even if some rumors send him to the New York Islanders, but we are still waiting for a confirmation in this case.
There is another quality player who is still available, a certain Phil Kessel. He had a respectable season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-2022 with 52 points in 82 games, but only scored eight goals.
As reported by Fanadiens.com's Patrick Beausejour, Kessel's case was recently discussed between Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek and the two brought up the possibility that he could sign a contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
The 34-year-old former first-round pick of the Bruins in 2006 certainly has a few good seasons left in him and the idea of him joining a team like the Oilers makes a lot of sense.
Playing with talented players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl could be an interesting option for Ken Holland, but the Oilers are currently over the salary cap and the team will have to free up some money in order to acquire him.
Kessel made $8 million in 2021-2022, so it would be quite surprising if he demanded that much money. On the other hand, if he were to take a significant pay cut to join the Oilers, he could continue his incredible streak of consecutive games played and he would bring depth to the Oilers' potent offense.
What do you think?
| POLL | ||
Could Kessel score 30 goals beside McDavid this season? | ||
| Absolutely | 575 | 76.8 % |
| No | 174 | 23.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
