The much-maligned Phil Kessel of Madison,
Wisconsin, is proving his many critics wrong by showing that he’s truly an elite
NHL player during the current postseason. Kessel, who was more or less run out of
Toronto by “Leafs Nation,” could potentially be a Conn Smythe candidate this
season if he and the Pittsburgh Penguins can keep it up. After 16 playoff games
this season he had eight goals and nine assists for 17 points, was a plus-5, and
sat at number three in the scoring race just two points behind the leader. That’s
nothing new for the speedy right-winger though as he now has 21 goals and 17
assists in 38 career postseason outings.
Kessel had a good, but not great season in
2015/16 with his 26 goals and 33 assists, but that could have been expected as
he spent the first half of the campaign getting used to a new set of teammates
and coaches. However, he did his part by helping the Penguins to a solid record
of 48-28-8 and was a plus-9. Once all
parties became used to each other, both Kessel and the Penguins finished the year
on a high note as being one of the hottest players and teams in the league. The
only Penguins who produced more than Kessel’s 59 points this year were Sidney
Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The 29-year-old, who started his career
with the Boston Bruins in 2006/07 after being drafted fifth overall, was
eventually acquired by Toronto in 2009 because of his goal scoring talent. He
didn’t let anybody down as he was the club’s best player and leading scorer for
the next six seasons. He also shone in his one playoff performance by leading
the squad with six points in four postseason games. But in typical Leafs
fashion they blew a 4-1 lead over Boston in game seven of their first-round series
with just 10 minutes to go and lost 5-4 in overtime.
As Toronto fans often do, they looked for a
scapegoat and somehow Kessel fit the bill. He was brought in to score goals and
score goals he did. But as an added bonus, he also showed what a fine playmaker
he is. For some reason, Kessel was labeled as being lazy and blamed for five
decades of Maple Leafs’ ineptness. The man isn’t a leader, has never proclaimed
himself to be, and probably never will be, but the fans’ anger for Toronto’s
half-century Stanley Cup drought fell directly into his lap. All he did in
Toronto was his job, and he did it well while shying away from the spotlight
whenever possible. He was also the team’s iron man as he didn’t miss a game for
in his final five years in Toronto.
Most Leafs’ fans didn’t appreciate Kessel,
but they’re now looking to replace him with a goal scorer to solve their
problems and are hoping Steve Stamkos will be the answer. They already had one
of the league’s best scorers and playmakers in Kessel though and didn’t have a
clue how to treat him. There’s no doubt the shy testicular-cancer survivor
Kessel prefers to let his on-ice play do his talking while others bask in the
spotlight since he’s generally not comfortable with the media. That has worked
out well for him in Pittsburgh as he can go about his job while others such as Crosby,
Malkin and Kris Letang handle the press and post-game interviews.
Kessel also seems to play his best when
there isn’t a lot of expectations heaped on him. While he didn’t set the league
on fire by skating alongside Crosby or Malkin he fits like a glove with Carl Hagelin
and Nick Bonino and the trio has become one of the league’s best lines. The
Leafs had no elite players to play with Kessel and arguably that was for the
best. But he’s proven to be a driving force on a good Pittsburgh team when used
properly. Leafs’ fans may now wonder who will play on Auston Matthews’ wing
next season if they take the young American first overall in the NHL Draft and
may regret that it won’t be Kessel. These fans need to realize Kessel didn’t
suddenly become a top player overnight. He was a legitimate star in Toronto and
only 11 NHL players have scored more goals than him since he broke into the
league a decade ago.
Also, from 2011 to 2014, Claude Giroux of
the Philadelphia Flyers was the one and only player to rack up more points than
Kessel. While with the Leafs, Kessel was the fifth-top goal scorer in the
league. The winger also has 38 points in 38 career playoff games for a pace of a
point point-per game. Granted, he’s played just 38 postseason contests up to
now, but his point-producing average in the playoffs is better than players
such as Patrick Kane, Paul Coffey, Alexander Ovechkin, Stan Mikita, Rocket
Richard, Jaromir Jagr and dozens of other stars.
Kessel wasn’t good enough for the Leafs and
the majority of their fans though and it shows just how incompetent this
franchise is. If they couldn’t build a team around a true NHL star such as
Kessel what makes them think things will be different if they’re lucky enough
to land Stamkos? Of course, the Leafs’ newest savior will now have somebody to
play with since the club has a few legitimate prospects after tanking for the
last two years. To rub salt into the wounds, the Leafs arguably didn’t get near
enough back in value for Kessel and they’re also paying part of his salary.
Trading Kessel may help Toronto in the long
run, but he was unfairly blamed for the team’s problems while tearing up the
league with the Leafs. Another ex-Leaf, Hall of Fame defenceman Larry Murphy,
knows exactly what Kessel is going through. Murphy was also the whipping boy of
Leafs’ fans while in Toronto from 1995 to 1997. Even though he scored 100
points in 151 games for the Leafs and had already won a Stanley Cup with
Pittsburgh, the experts in the stands deemed he wasn’t good enough for the
hapless Leafs. Murphy was also run out of town and then went on to win two more
Stanley Cups with Detroit. There’s still a long way to go in these playoffs,
but it’s possible Kessel could follow Murphy’s example.
Labels: Ian Palmer