Veteran forward Phil Kessel won his third Stanley Cup in the spring with the Vegas Golden Knights and recently put his NHL’s ironman streak, which remains active at 1,064 games, on the line in order to sign and play in the league for the upcoming season.
Though he is willing to sacrifice his playing streak to get the chance to extend his career, Kessel might have to be more patient. According to Adam Proteau of The Hockey News, “there aren’t going to be many teams lining up to sign him to a one-year, league-minimum contract.”
While Proteau refuses to say that Kessel’s career in the NHL is over, he dresses only a few ways we could see the three-time Cup champion back on the ice this season.
“There could be a circumstance in which a Cup contender deals with a training camp injury to one of their veterans, and Kessel becomes a decent replacement option at a low-cost, decent-reward price tag.”
Proteau adds that Kessel could have to wait “over the next few weeks before a team chooses to take him on” as teams are too close to the cap ceilings and could wait until a player is placed on long-term injured reserve to see if they have room for Kessel. Clubs therefore will only be able to tell once the season gets underway.
Kessel, who put up 14 goals and 36 points in 82 games last season, is aware of his value and that’s why he is willing to be a healthy scratch every so often just to keep playing.
And I want to see him back on the NHL ice so let’s hope Kessel remains patient and ends up on a roster this season.
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