Phil Kessel is off the market, signs late Wednesday night!

Phil Kessel has found his new team. 

Late on Wednesday, the Vegas Golden Knights announced that the team has signed forward Phil Kessel to a one-year contract worth an average annual value of $1,500,000. 

Earlier this week, insider Craig Morgan reported that Kessel attended the Arizona Coyotes’ informal skate. The veteran forward is ready to go and is most likely thrilled to join the Golden Knights, a team that was one of his top destination when trade rumours emerged about Kessel in recent years. 

Kessel is a forward who has experience winning two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He could bring great support up front. In three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, Kessel put up 42 goals and 91 assists. He is 34 years old, but still has gas in the tank!

While his production dropped considerably after being traded to the Coyotes by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019, he is also focused on keeping his Ironman Streak alive in Sin City. Kessel has played in 982 consecutive games since Nov. 11, 2009 when he was part of the Boston Bruins. Keith Yandle's record came to an end at 929 games this past season, so Kessel has a shot at the all-time record. 

With Kessel's signing, the Golden Knights are currently $7.3M over the cap, according to Cap Friendly. However, they are expected to place Shea Weber's contract ($7.857M) and goalie Robin Lehner ($5M) on the long-term injured reserve once the season starts. 

It took over a month, but Kessel is finally off of the free agent market and might just be one of the best steals of this offseason!