#PhilKesselWeek Some Scattered Thoughts About Phil

Let’s talk about Phil Kessel, shall we?

No, no, I don’t mean what he brings to the table as a player and what value you would need in a trade to justify trading him. G is going to do that during our #PhilKesselWeek.

I’m talking emotionally. I’m talking irrationally. I’m talking about being a fan. You know, the entire reason we write for this cursed website.

I’ll be honest with you: I always loved Phil Kessel for all the reasons you can think of. He wasn’t a prototypical athlete. He had the look of an everyman, but he had a snapshot that George W. Bush would classify as a weapon of mass destruction because he was defeated by the world nuclear.

The guy knew what his job was: score goals and the rest be damned. Not only was he good at doing that, but he was also damn near in a class of his own. When it comes to American-born NHLers, Phil Kessel is currently 12th in goals with 357 in 996 games. In no world do I think Phil is ever going to catch Brett Hull’s 741, but getting into the top ten or sniffing at the top five? You won’t convince me it isn’t possible.

Phil Kessel, jingoism aside, is also one of the most fun-loving athletes around. Sure, you don’t see it because he’s not great with reporters or the media, but why should he be? Everywhere he’s been he gets run out of town.

Spare me the “Well, Pat, if it’s happening again, there’s gotta be some truth to it!”

While I will grant that NHL players and coaches will never intentionally throw anyone under the bus, I do know that every teammate the man has seems to love him.

Yohe, for all his flaws, had a hell of a write up just before playoffs about Phil’s impact on the locker room and guess what, it was far from a negative.

“He gets portrayed a lot differently than how he really is. Sometimes things get too stiff in here. I’m sure it’s like that in any locker room to some extent. When things get like that in here, Phil’s the one who lightens us up. Always joking, always laughing. That’s Phil.” – Bryan Rust

I know the Phil Kessel is bad defensively wars to come are going to be bloodier than the Battle of the Bastards, but let me break this down in a way that relates to me personally: *puts on crappy athletic shoes* When I played the game….but seriously, I had a teammate who could score goals with the best of ‘em. Kind of guy that you just wondered, “how?” The puck just seemed to find him.

I remember talking to our coach one day and asking why he kept getting regular shifts despite being a total and complete liability in the defensive zone any time he touched the ice. The answer was simple and perfect: “Any time he’s on the ice he’s a threat to score.”

That’s Phil. Yeah, he’s not a Selke candidate, nor should we ever ask him to be one, he’s the big game American player that’s gonna rip shots past Lundqvist and make him throw the net off.

He’s Phil. He might drive a coach crazy because his two-way game isn’t perfect, but he’s a player you buy a ticket for because when he has the puck, you just feel it.

As far as coming to grips with him getting traded, I think we’re all there.

The easiest way to look at this is simple, Phil Kessel did what he was brought here to do, blow the championship window for Crosby, Malkin and Letang open again, and holy shit did he ever.

Phil Kessel was acquired from Toronto on July 1, 2015. Less than a year later, we had the second Stanley Cup of the Crosby-Malkin era and there was a serious case for Phil Kessel to win the Conn Smythe.

A year after that, we had the third Stanley Cup of the Crosby-Malkin era and again Phil Kessel was instrumental in that championship defense.

The very next year, Phil Kessel had a career year in points, despite his supposed whisperer Rick Tocchet leaving for Arizona.

He had a down year this year, by his standards, no question about it. However, pretending a team that has a bottom six that isn’t what it was in 2016 or 2017 and a defense that has active liabilities on each pairing has a Phil Kessel problem is intellectually dishonest.

I can see the logic for trading him. He’s consistently scoring, he seems to have a shelf-life wherever he goes and a team that needs scoring would likely pay a nice price for one Phillip J. Kessel. When Crosby and Malkin are in their 30s and entering the back nine of their careers, feelings and loyalty be damned.

Winning is not only a priority, but an expectation, so sometimes, you have to thank those that got you championships, keep them in your memory bank and move on.

So, thank you Phil Kessel.

Thank you for four great years, two Stanley Cup championships and more memes than you can tweet.

Just remember, though, the fans here will always love you.