Recent post about Phil Kessel has fans calling for his NHL return

Despite no action in free agency and no offers to join training camp on a PTO last season, Phil Kessel has yet to announce his retirement from the NHL. And earlier this week, a post on Instagram by Hockey Forever got people talking on how awesome it would be to have Kessel back in the league for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Kessel has now missed the past two full seasons and fans are convinced the veteran forward still has a lot to offer.

Especially after Rick Tocchet’s comments surfaced this week about Kessel’s poker playing abilities and his guts when at the table.

“He has balls, and he has a lot of money… I’d walk in the casino after a game and one of the security guys would come up to me and say, ‘Your guy, Phil, was just in here. Nice guy.’ And I would just laugh. It’s his stress reliever, to be honest. I don’t know what Phil would’ve done if he didn’t have poker. But it’s good for him, in a way. You don’t always say that about people and poker, but he needed that stress release.”

The comments of Tocchet, who is now the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, but who did coach Kessel with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes, were taken from the Athletic.

Selected fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2006, Kessel has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Penguins, Coyotes and Golden Knights, recording 413 goals and 579 assists over 1,286 games. He was hoping to add more NHL games to his resume and possibly a fourth championship before he hangs up the skates… but in the meantime, he keeps being dealt the hands he can.

With Tocchet now behind the bench in Philly, could he be willing to offer Kessel a professional tryout agreement ahead of training camp, with a chance to see him crack the Flyers’ roster for 2025-26?

My vote is yes, please!