5 Free Agents New Jersey Devils Must Avoid At All Costs

4. Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel is another player who could hold down the lineup. His games played streak is a weight on his career at this point. Being forced to have Phil Kessel in the lineup on a nightly basis puts good teams in a bad spot. The Devils definitely have a spot for Phil Kessel on paper, but he comes with too much responsibility for the Devils to lock themselves into that kind of commitment.

Kessel literally played one shift to keep his games played streak going. We saw what happened last season with the Philadelphia Flyers and Keith Yandle when they decided he was no longer useful to their lineup. The same thing is going to happen to the next team with Kessel.

That is solely why the next team should not be the Devils. They can’t deal with that kind of controversy or backlash. The Devils should do what they can to avoid unnecessary distractions. Kessel hasn’t done anything like other players on the list, but his status as an NHL legend and his ability to play every game makes him a hard sign to make.

On top of all that, he’s 34 years old, and he only had eight goals last season. He was on a dreadful Arizona Coyotes team, but he still didn’t have the season anyone would get excited about. Kessel had a very interesting career, and without the who “games played” record hanging in the balance, it might be worth a flier, but the situation right now says he isn’t a good signing.