Phil Kessel talks about potential offseason trade from the Penguins

It’s been a pretty successful four seasons for Phil Kessel since joining the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015. The 31 year old sniper has two Stanley Cup championships under his belt and has topped 80 and 90 points the past two seasons. Still, the rumors of a potential deal out of Pittsburgh for Kessel persist. And last night’s loss to the New York Islanders which ousted the Pens from Stanley Cup contention, doesn’t help matters.

Penguins reporter Rob Rossi, never one to shy away from a tough interview question, asked Kessel about the possibility of an offseason trade following last night’s loss. 

Check out Phil’s response:

"That's a tough question to start. But I don't know at this point. We'll see how it goes this summer. I've never worried about it. You know, obviously, two years in a row it didn't go the way we wanted it to. We'll see."

We’ll see indeed.

One thing’s for sure, there are likely to be some changes made in Pittsburgh and Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has intimated before that only Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are truly “untouchable”. Now, does this mean Kessel is on the trade block? Not necessarily, but if the right offer comes along then Rutherford would certainly be willing to entertain the idea of a trade.