Edmonton Oilers trade Zack Kassian, 29th pick, and future picks to Arizona Coyotes for 32nd pick

The Edmonton Oilers traded Zack Kassian to the Arizona Coyotes, along with the 29th overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft, their 2025 second round pick, and 2024 third round pick, for the 32nd overall pick on Thursday night. The Oilers didn’t retain any of Kassian’s salary in the trade.

Kassian is halfway through a four-year deal with a $3.2 million cap hit, a deal that he signed with the Oilers in 2020. He was in the middle of a strong campaign in 2019-20 season, with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 59 games for the Oilers, playing alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Kassian’s play has since fallen off, with just eight goals, 16 assists, and 24 points in 85 games over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. With the Oilers need for cap space increasing as the team gets better and better, it was a contract that they wanted to get rid of, and they found a suitor in the Coyotes.

For Arizona, the main accomplishment is an increase in draft capital, moving up three picks in the first round this year, along with the future second and third round picks. And they still acquire a solid player in Kassian, who, while not quite worth his contract, can still provide some experience and toughness to a rebuilding Coyotes team. Also, his contract helps them work towards the cap floor, which will probably be closer to where the team sits next season.

For Edmonton, as mentioned before, it provides cap space. They cleared out $3.2 million without retaining any salary while only moving down three spots in the draft and losing a future second and third round pick. Before the trade, the Oilers had just over $7 million in cap space to retain unrestricted free agents Evander Kane and Brett Kulak, and restricted free agents Kailer Yamamoto, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Ryan McLeod.