Phil Kessel spotted in Vancouver and fans are shocked by his looks!
The veteran forward comes to train with the Canucks’ farm club.
HockeyFeed
On Tuesday evening, the Vancouver Canucks announced that veteran free agent forward Phil Kessel will work out with the team’s AHL affiliate club in Abbotsford, British Columbia this week. Kessel, who played in all 82 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season, put up 14 goals and 22 assists. He only played four games in the playoffs and the Knights went on to capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, making it Kessel’s third championship in his career.
Kessel hasn’t played since, and when it was confirmed by Canucks GM Patrik Allvin that he was coming to Vancouver, some fans made their way to the local airport in the hopes to catch Kessel arriving.
One did and when he posted a picture of the free agent on social media, fans were stunned by the way Kessel looked despite not playing since the start of the 2023-24 season.
Indeed on the picture taken at the airport’s bagage claim, you can tell that Kessel is looking good and fit.
Selected fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2006, Kessel has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes and Golden Knights, recording 413 goals and 579 assists over 1,286 games.
By joining the Canucks, Kessel would not only have a chance at a fourth Stanley Cup, but would also reunite with former coach Rick Tocchet. The two men worked together for two seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, after some time spent in Pittsburgh as well.
The Canucks have been quite active in putting together the best lineup possible for a long Stanley Cup run. In two separate trades with the Calgary Flames, Vancouver first acquired defenseman Nikita Zadorov and then made a blockbuster move to get forward Elias Lindholm. The addition of Kessel, and a fit one, would provide the Canucks with another option to a winger core and some experience to make it all the way to the Cup.
This is exciting for Kessel, who owns the NHL’s iron man streak with 1,064 consecutive regular-season games played, and could get another shot at a championship before calling it a career.
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