Yesterday, former Arizona Coyotes power forward Zack Kassian has called it a career after 12 seasons as the NHL veteran announced his retirement.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Zack Kassian has officially announced his retirement from the NHL after 12 seasons.
Zack was drafted 13th overall to the @BuffaloSabres in 2009. He would make his NHL debut in the 2011 with the Sabres before moving over to the @Canucks. He would go on to play for the… pic.twitter.com/Q4tZh00jIA
— NHL Alumni (@NHLAlumni) October 26, 2023
So, Kassian has had a physical career to say the least.
To start, Kassian was selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the 13th pick in the 2009 NHL Draft.
In Buffalo, Kassian played for one year before suiting up for the Vancouver Canucks for 4 seasons.
There, Kassian spent a bulk of his time as a NHL player with the Edmonton Oilers as he spent 7 campaigns in Alberta, Canada.
However, after the 2021-22 season, the enforcer was traded to Arizona, along with three draft picks, for the Coyotes’ 32nd pick in the 2022 draft.
But, with a cap hit of $3.2 million, the transaction would be viewed as a “salary dump” by Edmonton who tried to get Kassian off their books.
In Arizona, Kassian had 2 goals, 51 penalty minutes and 32 hits in 52 games.
On Jun. 2o, it was announced that Kassian was put on waivers as he had one year remaining on his contract with Arizona.
Unclaimed, the Coyotes decided to buyout Kassian, and therefore, let him become a free agent.
Soon after, Kassian signed a professional tryout (PTO) with the Anaheim Ducks for their training camp on Sept. 1.
Unfortunately, the Ducks decided to release Kassian from his PTO on Oct. 8 and he has now retired.
Concluding, Kassian hit 1360 times and racked up 913 penalty minutes in 661 total games.
Moreover, Kassian scored 92 goals and assisted 111 times to record 203 points.
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Alec Cipollini is a journalist covering the Arizona Coyotes, Cardinals and Phoenix Rising for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
