Summer phenomenon Phil Kessel finally made his Toronto Maple Leaf debut on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Phil Kessel finally made his classy debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Unfortunately, there was no Hollywood ending to the Leafs-Lightning game. In overtime, after Phil Kessel and the Leafs came close to winning the game (Kessel actually hit the crossbar in a scramble sequence), Ryan Malone scored one of the strangest game winning goals I’ve seen in some time.
But seriously, who cares about the actual game? All anyone really wanted to talk about was Vincent Lecavalier’s terrible start, Steve Stamkos and oh yeah, Phil Kessel.
Phil Kessel had a good debut for his new club. I have no qualms saying Kessel’s impact was immediate. He certainly added flair, speed and a level of dynamic play the Leafs have lacked so far this season. Kessel’s timing was a bit off on some plays but that’s to be expected having not played an NHL game in six months.
But here’s the thing – let’s not confuse a good debut with a great debut. Phil Kessel finished the game with 23:50 minutes of ice time, 10 shots and a -1 rating. And a crushing hit from Mattias Ohlund in the first period. (definitely need to click the link to see what’s being referred to as ‘The Kessel Hit’).
Speaking of the Ohlund hit, here’s what Ron Wilson had to say about Phil Kessel (who briefly left the game before returning):
“You could kind of see it coming, he was dancing through a minefield … You’ve got to give him a double thumbs up for taking a hit like that, a massive hit and coming back and still being a dominant player every shift.”
- Ron Wilson, talking about Phil Kessel’s reaction to a solid hit from Mattias Ohlund
Let’s not butter the kid up too much, Ron. Ohlund delivered a clean hit and Phil Kessel got up – happens all the time in the NHL. And then Wilson said the following:
“Kessel had 17 shots attempted; 10 on net, 5 blocked and 2 went wide. I’d say that’s a pretty good first impression.”
- Ron Wilson, talking about Phil Kessel’s Toronto Maple Leaf debut
With all due respect to Ron Wilson and Phil Kessel, how many of those shot attempts were significant scoring chances? Maybe 2-3 at best. That’s fine, but Wilson and Brian Burke have this terrible habit of over-hyping everything in blue and white. This is another example of that. Kessel’s return was good and something to build from.
His speed, quick release and ability to find open areas around the the net will go a long way in helping the Leafs score important goals. But let’s not suggest his debut was a roaring success. After all, a few close chances still resulted in an overtime loss – the 5th time that’s happened this season (overtime or shootout loss) for the Leafs. And Phil Kessel was held pointless. Again, to be expected, but let’s not suggest his debut was anything beyond good.
Stay classy, Phil Kessel.
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maybe phil kessels skill shows how terrible the rest of the leafs actually are..
Hey Burgundy, I thought your assessment of Kessel was bang-on. He was good but how great of a game can you have if you didn’t score?
I liked the new dynamic Kessel brough to the Leafs, though you have to wonder about what kind of shape he’s in right now. I think he played the entire game last night on pure adrenaline and it’ll be interesting to see if he can maintain the energy level he brought to last night’s game.
Phil kessel is awesome. He is just not good, he is great. Your opinion sucks. Considering he doesn’t have much talent around him, he is doing a spectacular job. So burgundy, get your eyes checked out and strap on a set of nuts pal!
Nice Dextr. Thanks for noticing when this article was written (nearly a month ago). His job is to score goals and he’s doing that. Meeting expectations is what he’s doing… nothing more.