Arizona Coyotes sign forward Justin Kirkland to one-year contract
The Arizona Coyotes have signed forward Justin Kirkland to a one-year, two-way contract, the club announced Saturday afternoon.
Kirkland, 26, split the 2022–23 regular season between the Anaheim Ducks and the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls.
The Camrose, Alberta product collected nine goals and 18 points in 32 games with the Gulls in 2022–23. He was held scoreless in seven NHL contests with the Ducks before being hospitalized as a result of a car accident in January.
Through 365 career AHL games over parts of seven seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals, Stockton Heat, and Gulls, Kirkland has collected 67 goals and 170 points.
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The Coyotes did not release the financial terms of Kirkland’s contract with the club. His signing comes just a day after the club officially cut ties with Alex Galchenyuk, who had also signed a two-way deal with the Coyotes earlier in the UFA period. Galcheynuk was arrested on multiple charges by Scottsdale police on July 9.
Kirkland could very well slide right into Galchenyuk’s vacated spot on the Coyotes’ organizational depth chart. The six-foot-three, 194-pound forward is capable of playing both center and left wing and established himself as a quality top-six AHLer with Stockton in 2021–22, scoring 25 goals and 48 points in 66 games.
The Nashville Predators originally selected Kirkland in the third round (No. 62 overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. Kirkland made the jump from the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets to the AHL in 2016 and spent parts of three seasons with the Admirals before being released by Nashville as a non-tendered RFA in 2019.
Kirkland then signed with the Calgary Flames and spent three seasons with their AHL affiliate — at that point based in Stockton, California — before becoming a Group VI UFA in 2022 and joining the Ducks on a one-year deal.
The Coyotes have been extremely busy since the 2023 UFA period opened on July 1. As well as signing (and releasing) Galchenyuk, the Coyotes have added Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot, Nick Bjugstad, Troy Stecher, Travis Dermott, and Zach Sanford. They’ve also brought in Kirkland, John Leonard, Matt Villalta, and Montana Onyebuchi to compete for spots on their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.