Phil Kessel, in his first year with the Coyotes after getting traded from the Penguins, has taken a significant decrease in his production compared to previous years in his career. Last season, Phil Kessel finished with 82 points on the year, 27 goals and 55 assists, averaging a point per game. This season, Phil is at 38 points, 14 goals and 24 assists, through 70 games, with the season presumably returning this summer. He is averaging .54 PPG, and if he continues the current pace he will only have 44.28 points on the season. That is a 46% decrease in the 2019-2020 season.

How Kessel became a Coyote

In the blockbuster trade that sent Phil Kessel to the Yotes in late June of 2019, Arizona received Phil Kessel, a 2021 fourth-round pick, and prospect defenseman Dane Birks in exchange for Alex Galychenuk and defensive prospect Pierre-Oliver Joseph. The Coyotes acquired Kessel in order to have a goal scorer and playmaker on offense. The current Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins before being hired as the head coach for Arizona, and had a good relationship with Kessel. Kessel was a fan of Tocchet’s coaching style and how he related to the players.

Kessel’s Scoring Prowess

There was a lot of hype surrounding the trade and how Kessel would be the reason the Arizona Coyotes make the playoffs. Though the Coyotes are having a solid season and are in position to potentially be in the playoffs as they fight for the second wild card spot, Kessel has not been the reason, he has not produced nearly what people expected. In his last three seasons with the Penguins, Kessel had 70 points in 2016-17, 92 points in 2017-18, and 2018-19 he had 82 points as mentioned above. In the 2017 season, he won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh. This year with the Coyotes, Phil has been switched around different lines with different players trying to find a good combination for him. Currently, Kessel is on the second line with Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller, both younger but skillful playmakers.

Why He Has Dropped in Production

He has been fairly consistent in his monthly production so far, with 7 points in October and November, 8 in December, 9 in January and 4 so far in February with 4 games remaining in the month. Last season with the Penguins, he started off the year with 15 points in October, 13 points in November, 18 points in December, 9 points in both January and February, 14 points in March, and 4 points in 3 games in April. Through the chart you can see an extreme decrease in his numbers compared to normal. In some months he has less than half his numbers than last year, which has been an extreme let down for the Coyotes this year. One reason could be playing on a new team with new players, but that should only be a problem for Kessel for maybe two months. He has been given everything possible to succeed and he is still struggling to put up his normal numbers. Another reason could be he was playing with Sidney Crosby and Evegeni Malkin in years past. Those two players are some of the best in the NHL, and Crosby is an easy write-in for the Hall of Fame and will be regarded as one of the best players of all time. Playing without either of Crosby or Malkin, the Coyotes didn’t have anyone near their skill until December with the Taylor Hall trade, is likely a factor in his drop in numbers this year.

Power Play Consistency

Phil’s power play production is also something that was very desirable for the Coyotes this season, as his offensive prowess is something that was gonna be a huge boost for Coyotes who had one of the worst power plays in the league in 2018-19. This is one area where Kessel has excelled for the Coyotes, as he has high numbers on the power play, scoring 9 of his 13 goals on the power play. Though he is having an off-season point total wise, he has been able to keep up on the power play. This chart shows that Phil Kessel has been struggling in regular 5-on-5 play. This further proves that his lack of Sidney Crosby and Malkin, as well as his lack of skill on the Coyotes this season, has caused his huge drop in point total and full strength scoring. If Phil were to pick back up on his even strength scoring, and find ways to create more opportunities with his new teammates, he wouldn’t be having the current struggles he is having now.