Kessel was booed in Toronto Saturday but I think he fits into the ironic heel Subban category and not the despised one Chara in Montreal. He gave you 6 great years, put up with constant media scrutiny and brought the Cup to Sick Kids… Sure, boo-ing Kessel makes sense.
Loud, loud And completely unnecessary boos for Kessel here. Take another example from Saturday as a comparison. Jimmy Vesey , who was drafted by the Nashville Predators, spent four years in college hockey before declining to sign with the club, choosing the New York Rangers after a lengthy courting period. Jimmy Vesey's first shift in Nashville — boos into a "sucks" chant.
But boo away, I say. Kessel scored a bunch of goals as a Leaf, signed a long contract to stay here, and led the team to its only playoff appearance since He then went on to excel in Pittsburgh with the Penguins, win a Cup, and become an almost league-wide fan favourite, even becoming the subject of a Barack Obama jibe.
I think if you spoke to an individual, they would say they cheer for him. So why do they boo? The Wave, whether you like it or not. Booing or waving gives that fan group a voice, and more importantly, a role in the game that no individual can possibly have. Incidentally, Kessel has gone pointless in his five games against his former club, including Saturday night. He had this glorious chance to give the Pens the lead late in the third period:.
Earlier in the day, Kessel called it strange to be back in Toronto as an opposing player. He remarked that the stalls seemed taller in the visiting locker-room when he couldn't quite toss his helmet on top on the first try. But I love this city, and it's good to be back. Kessel already faced his former teammates in Pittsburgh in mid-October, but Saturday marked his return to the city in which he became an NHL star and the place he called home for six years.
Now on to his next chapter with the Penguins, the year-old right-winger didn't feel it was the time to reflect on why things didn't work out in Toronto.
I made a commitment. That's how it goes. It's hockey, right? It's a business, and you move on. Toronto traded him to Pittsburgh on July 1 in exchange for a conditional pick, defenceman Scott Harrington, forward Nick Spaling and prospect Kasperi Kapanen.
Kessel had goals and assists for points in regular-season games with the Leafs and had six points in the seven-game series against the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. Kessel was a complicated figure and the subject of plenty of criticism in Toronto as the Leafs' best player. Much has been made of the Penguins' goal scoring struggles through the first 10 games coming into Saturday, but this team is simply too deep and too talented up front to keep going along at that rate. One of the biggest problems the Penguins had in recent years was that when their top-two lines centered by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin did not score, nobody did.
This year's team has the deepest collection of forward talent they've had in years, and on Saturday that depth was on display thanks to goals from Chris Kunitz , Matt Cullen and Eric Fehr. For Fehr, it was his first game in a Penguins uniform after signing a free agent contract with the team over the summer.
They wanted four lines that can score, and they might finally have that. Just consider that on Saturday they were rolling out a fourth-line that featured Fehr, Cullen and Sergei Plotnikov , a unit that combined for a pair of goals.
Station Info. Share Tweet Email. Share: Share Tweet Email. Phil Kessel , Stanley Cup champion, playoff warrior, and now forever more seen in a different light. Booed out of Boston and then out of Toronto, the much-maligned and perhaps misunderstood Kessel was clutch all spring long, leading the Penguins in scoring with 22 points in 24 games.
This is the player whom Penguins GM Jim Rutherford thought he would get 12 months ago when he traded for him from the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs , a deal that generated mixed reviews.
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