Let me preface this short piece with the comment that I really like Arizona and I love Phoenix.
Sure it gets hot in the summer, but they will be ready for the future far earlier than the rest of us. Â 
Phoenix is a terrific city, clean, major sports, entertainment options, great concert venues, and road system, once you figure it out, that can get you across the metropolitan area.
So, why is Phoenix, in the form of the Arizona Coyotes, the dumping ground for bad NHL contracts and problem children in the NHL?
Late Saturday, 29 June, Phil Kessel was unloaded by the Pittsburgh Penguins, to the Coyotes in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
After four years in Pittsburgh, Kessel had worn out his welcome. Really he had worn out his welcome after the Pens won their second straight Stanley Cup in 2017.
This past season Kessel had 82 points on 27 goals in 82 games for Pittsburgh. But his enthusiasm waned after 2017 as it did in Toronto with the Maple Leafs after a couple of seasons.
“I have a lot of good memories. Two Cups, fans treating me great there, the city’s great,” Kessel said. “Those couple of years there, those will last forever. I’m glad to have a couple of Cups, but it’s time to move on.”
‘Those couple of years’ was the piece of the statement that should ring alarm bells for any team that pucks up Kessel. Kessel seems to have the attention span of a gnat. If not that, then he is only engaged if there is a prospect of winning and the last two seasons were not the best for the Pens.
Now he heads to Glendale to see what he can undo there. At 32, Kessel is on the decline, or rather continuing his decline.
“I’m very excited to be part of the Coyotes,” Kessel said. “Me and Rick [Tocchet] have a good relationship, excited he’s going to be my coach, looking forward to doing great things in Phoenix. … I’m just coming in to do what I do best, try to help the team win as many games as possible. I think they’re a good up-and-coming team. They’ve got a lot of great pieces in place, lot of good players.”
Head coach Rick Tocchet made the Coyotes respectable this past season and almost got them back to the post season but missed out late to the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
“Toch knows him extremely well and coached him and he knows exactly what he’s getting with Phil, and Phil knows exactly what he’s getting with Toch,” Coyotes general manager John Chayka said. “All this gives us comfort we’re not only getting a Stanley Cup winner and an elite scorer, but a guy who should fit in well and come in motivated.”
Honestly, the Coyotes were fun to watch after the New Year. Almost as much fun as the St Louis Blues. Why interrupt that progress by nurse maiding Kessel or waiting for the implosion that is coming?
This was not a salary cap dump as the Pens are only saving $1.9 million on the cap hit
This was an excision and Pens’ general manager Jim Rutherford was going to get rid of Kessel for any cost and the Coyotes were willing to part with Galchenyuk and Joseph.
“I felt it was time to make a change,” Rutherford said. “We were making some changes, so I kind of made that decision. I’d had times where I’d talked to Phil about the future here and things like that. I was aware that Arizona and going to be with Tocc was a place he’d be comfortable with. We like Alex. We know he can score when he’s on the top of his game. He’d already done it. He’s had a 30-goal season.”
Over the last five drafts, the Coyotes have selected defensemen and stockpiled those assets, so releasing Joseph, 20, is not as depleting as it might otherwise seem.
Galchenyuk, 25, was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2012 Entry NHL Draft but has not lived up to the over inflated hype. He is a 20-goal scorer and may add some depth to the Pens’ offense or at least a faster skater.
Kessel had one year remaining on his contract with the Penguins. Let him play for himself and new free agency deal in 2020 and hope he produces enough, with enough enthusiasm to push the Coyotes into the playoffs next year.
Then excise him with the same blade Rutherford used in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
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