A Classy Move

If there's something you should know, it's that I have an appreciation for Phil Kessel after watching him play in a Penguins uniform for so long. I'm not saying he'd be the first player whose name would appear on the back of a jersey if I were to acquire one, but I appreciate that for all the Steve Simmons on this planet who thought he wasn't in shape enough or played a lazy game or whatever excuse with which they wanted to paint him, he showed up for work every night. Literally, every night. You can't ask for much more than that from a player as Kessel helped the Penguins win two Stanley Cups.

I made that reference to him showing up every night because Phil Kessel's ironman streak continued in Detroit tonight. There were some serious discussions about it perhaps ending as his pregnant partner was due to give birth back in Arizona, so the Arizona Coyotes got creative with Kessel's streak tonight. Here's tonight's action.
Rarely do I post highlights where the only highlight is a shot on goal, but this one was important as you saw Phil Kessel fist-bumping teammates on his way back to the bench. Kessel would play his only shift of the game shown above as he left the game immediately after leaving the ice so he could be with his partner in Arizona for the birth of the couple's first child.

As per Elliotte Friedman, the Coyotes not only let Kessel leave the game after officially playing one shift in his 956th-straight game, but they chartered a flight for their sniper so he could fly home directly from Detroit to be with his partner for this big moment.

I know I don't usually put these words together in the same sentence, but that's a helluva classy move, Arizona Coyotes.

Let me go on the record right here that if ran a hockey team, the birth of a child at any point in a player's career would warrant a night off. It's a big moment in any player's life - male or female - and I'd not only grant that request, but I'd be encouraging that player to be with his or her partner for that moment. If it's Phil Kessel, though, and he's got his ironman streak going, I'd do what the Coyotes did as well.

After there were rumours that the Florida Panthers had considered making current ironman record-holder Keith Yandle a healthy scratch in his final season in Sunrise, seeing what the Coyotes did tonight in allowing Kessel to dress, leave early, leave the team shorthanded against the Red Wings, and charter a flight home for him so he could be with his partner just to extend his ironman streak is awesome. It shows a level of respect for Kessel not only as a team member and player, but for his ability to remain healthy when it comes to his ironman streak.

I get that the Coyotes aren't competing for a playoff spot or anything, but head coach André Tourigny could have simply scratched Kessel in favour of a player who would be available for the other 59 minutes of the hockey game if he had wanted. Instead, the head coach clearly has a good relationship with Kessel, and he did the right thing even if there was a chance it could hurt his team's chances in the standings. Rarely do I celebrate teams putting individual records ahead of team goals, but this decision in a season where the Coyotes are simply playing out the stretch was the correct one to make.

For those asking, by officially playing tonight as per NHL rules, Kessel now has the third-longest consecutive game streak in NHL history. He now sits just eight games behind Doug Jarvis who, at 964 consecutive games played, held the record for more than 24 years before Keith Yandle broke it in January. As it stands, Kessel remains 22 games back of Yandle at this time, and it appears neither player will be asking for a night off anytime soon.

I know the Coyotes have taken some black eyes in the media lately for their rather inexplicable decisions on where they'll play and who is paying the bills, but this is the kind of story that reminds you that this game is played by people. Sometimes, there are things more important in people's lives than wins, losses, goals, and saves. The Arizona Coyotes recognized that tonight, and they deserve some kudos for helping Phil Kessel preserve his streak before celebrating a major moment in his life.

I don't say it often, but you stay classy, Arizona!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!