It’s the summer of 2015, Phil Kessel gets traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Leafs Nation breathes a sigh of relief. To say the least, Kessel’s time in Toronto was volatile. During his tenure in the capital of Ontario, Phil was undoubtedly Toronto’s biggest offensive threat night in and night out as he led the Leafs in points with 394. The next closest was long-time linemate Tyler Bozak with 232 points. For 3 of the 6 years Phil was a Maple Leaf he was top 10 in league scoring. On the other end of the stick, during his time here, the Hockey News labelled Kessel as a ‘coach killer,’ he had 1 Stanley Cup playoff appearance in 6 years and was humiliatingly chosen as the last player in the 2011 NHL All-Star Draft.
Let’s fast forward to 2024 and Phil Kessel is 8 points shy of hitting 1,000 career NHL points, the current holder of the NHL’s Ironman streak for consecutive games played at 1,064 and he is a 3x Stanley Cup winner. So, what exactly happened to #81, the fast-skating hot-dog lover during his time in Toronto
TABLE OF CONTENTS
– Phil’s Arrival In Toronto
– Phil The Thrill
– Pittsburgh, Vegas And 3 Stanley Cups
– Conclusion
From the moment Phil Kessel arrived in Toronto, he was doomed, not because of his playing style or nationality. It was because of what the Leafs gave up to get him. Newly appointed and highly regarded hockey guru Brian Burke felt the hockey pressures of the Toronto market, instead of being patient and going through a rebuild, he decided to expedite the process and give fans something to cheer about rather than sit around and wait. Burke pulled the trigger on the young, fast-skating, pure-goal scorer but this came at a cost. Toronto traded their 2010 first-round pick (Tyler Seguin), 2011 second-round pick (Jared Knight) and 2011 first-round pick (Dougie Hamilton). Mr. Knight never skated a stride in an NHL game but Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton have certainly made their mark on the league. Tyler Seguin is a 6-time NHL all-star who has amassed over 775 points over 14 seasons. While Dougie Hamilton has suited up in 771 NHL games, is a bona-fide #1 NHL defenseman and was named an NHL second-team all-star in 2021.
Phil was a superstar during his time in Toronto but the Leafs gave up two superstars to get him, and a move of this magnitude can only be justified with Phil hoisting the Stanley Cup on Yonge and Bloor Street, and as we all know, this wasn’t the case.
Phil’s performance in Toronto was nothing short of what was promised. Heralded as a high-flying, goal-scoring winger #81 did exactly that. Phil potted 181 goals in 446 games which was 5th highest for all skaters in the NHL during that time. Phil didn’t stop there though. He added playmaking to his skillset. During the same span he accumulated 213 assists which was good for 26th in the league, but his playmaking took off during his 3rd season as a Leaf, so during his last 4 years as a Leaf Phil ranked 14th in assists. This isn’t too shabby for a player who many thought was one-dimensional. His infamous speedy right-side zone entries, slam on the breaks at the top of the circle pull-ups to pass to the trailer entering the zone were truly something special to watch.
Phil’s First Two Seasons: 09-10 & 10-11
Phil’s Last Four Seasons: 11-12 to 14-15
Phil’s on-ice performance was better than expected but for some reason it left many wanting more. Strangely enough, it was his off-ice performance that drew the most attention. Phil’s body shape, eating habits and his unwillingness to chat to the media always provoked the ire of his critics.
Phil was undoubtedly Toronto’s best player during his time here, so naturally fans and media alike viewed Phil as the saviour. However, with great powers comes great responsibility and Kessel was burdened with what Toronto fans placed on him and that was bringing the cup back to Toronto and unfortunately for him he didn’t have any help. His most frequent centremen was undrafted College free-agent Tyler Bozak who never surpassed more than 55 points during an NHL season. The backend was anchored by heavyweight Dion Phaneuf who struggled to keep up with the quicker and faster-paced NHL of today and the man behind the net was never a bona-fide NHL starter. It featured rotating castmates and journeymen like James Reimer, Jonathan Bernier and Jonas Gustavsson.
Phil did his part for the Leafs and scored at an elite pace. It wasn’t his fault that GMs Brian Burke and Dave Nonis failed to properly assemble the other 19 players on the roster and give him someone to work with. Yet it always seemed like he was blamed for management’s mishaps. He was always portrayed as the quiet and shy guy with the media, and while that is true it was always construed as a bad thing. Why? What’s wrong with a hockey player who doesn’t like talking to the media and wants to keep to himself? Why was it that when it came to on-ice performance, what should matter most to an NHL hockey player, he did nothing but perform and critics only noticed his lack of off-ice qualities?!
He was lamented for his lack of leadership, but the hot-dog-loving player stood up for his teammates to the media during his time here. Remember how he stood up for teammate and captain Dion Phaneuf? Standing up for teammates during adversity looks like a leadership move to me.
Phil’s trade away from Canada to Pittsburgh didn’t get off to a great start. Through his first 36 games, he registered only 20 points. However, Phil ended the year with 39 points in 46 games. From here on in Phil’s time as a Penguin was smooth sailing. He had a career-best output with 92 points in 82 games in 2017-18. He won two Stanley Cups. He accumulated 57 points in 65 playoff games and in the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs he led all players in scoring with 22 points in 24 games.
In the summer of 2019, Kessel was traded out of Pittsburgh to Arizona and while his production tapered it was still respectable, but the Wisconsin natives best playing days were behind him. In Arizona, Phil tallied 133 points in 208 games and his last full year in the NHL, the 2022-23 season, Phil scored 14 times to go along with 22 assists for 36 points in 82 games en route to his third Stanley Cup victory with the Vegas Golden Knights.
It’s a shame that Phil’s time in Toronto couldn’t have been filled with more success. It’s a shame that we focused on his eating habits and lackadaisical attitude as opposed to his on-ice performance which was nothing short of superstar calibre, which was exactly what he was prescribed to be when he first came to Toronto in 2009. But, as they say, things happen for a reason. The Maple Leafs share the longest active NHL playoff streak with 7 seasons and just last year they made it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 19 years. Kessel has won 3 Stanley Cups and is arguably the most beloved NHL character today. Perhaps, he had to endure hate in Toronto for the rest of the hockey world to realize what a treasure he is.
References
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