At the 2022 NHL Draft, Zack Kassian was traded by the Edmonton Oilers to the Arizona Coyotes along with the 29th overall pick, a 2024 third-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for the 32nd overall pick.
The move was a pure cap dump. Edmonton was tight against the salary cap and Kassian was making $3.2 million per year for two more seasons and coming off of a season where he had just six goals and nineteen points.
Though he was once a fan favourite in Edmonton, large in part to his physical style and emotional prescence, his production had fallen off significatly from his back-to-back 15 goal seasons and it really seemed it was time for a change.