Listen up, hockey fans! The Arizona Coyotes just pulled a bit of squad shuffling before their face-off with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. They hit up Twitter – because where else do you drop your latest sports news? – to spill the tea that they’ve snagged winger Justin Kirkland from the AHL’s Tucson crew on an emergency basis. Prepare for the cavalry, folks!
Ah, Kirkland, at the ripe age of twenty-seven, is no stranger to the yo-yo life of recalls. The Coyotes have yanked him up four times in the past month, but let’s be real, they’ve been about as generous with his ice time as a miser with a dollar bill. The dude clocked a measly average of 7:14 minutes across a grand total of… two games. Nevertheless, the man’s been setting the desert on fire down in Tucson, racking up sixteen points in eighteen games, nearly beating last year’s total and he’s done it in fourteen fewer curtain calls. Can we say ‘AHL hotshot’?
Here’s the deal with Arizona – they’re about as short on forwards as a giraffe is on necks, standing with just a dozen names on the active list. Nick Schmaltz is among those names, but he’s been more of a benchwarmer than a playmaker lately thanks to an upper-body mystery. The head honcho, Coach Andre Tourigny, has basically said no dice to Schmaltz lacing up for the Penguins match-up. They’ve been rolling with seven defensemen but with Kirkland in the mix, they’re back in the twelve-forward game. Classic hockey, am I right?
So keep your eyes peeled, because Kirkland may just bring a shimmer of hope to the Coyotes’ line-up, or, you know, warm the bench with style. Stay tuned, sports lovers!