Elliotte Friedman shares an update on Phil Kessel's NHL future ahead of the season
Elliotte Friedman shared an update on Phil Kessel's NHL future ahead of the season during the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast.
The renowned NHLer Phil Kessel won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 and has not been seen on NHL ice since. He became a free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season and remains one to this day.
After spending the last year training, Kessel has never lost his passion or desire to play in the NHL.
Spittin' Chiclets co-host Paul Bissonnette even made a post on X a few days ago, expressing his confusion as to why teams haven't offered Kessel a professional tryout.
It turns out that this could change, as Kessel has not closed the door on returning to the NHL.
In fact, according to insider Elliotte Friedman, the three-time Stanley Cup champion absolutely wants to come back and compete:
"So, Paul Bissonnette had a tweet this week about 'How come Kessel can't get a job?' and I was looking at it because I had heard, and I was gonna check, that Kessel was calling teams and really wanted to play. That seems to confirm it, and then I heard from a couple of people that he's legit about it."
Kessel, 36, worked out with the Vancouver Canucks' AHL affiliate earlier this year, near the trade deadline. It ultimately led to nothing as the Canucks decided to seek reinforcements on the trade market instead.
He was drafted 5th overall in 2006 by the Boston Bruins and has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Arizona Coyotes, in addition to the Bruins and Golden Knights.
Kessel ranks 12th for most points among American players, with 413 goals and 579 assists in 1,286 games.
Kessel wants to play, and he has made it clear. If a team is interested, he will likely sign a professional tryout. If it doesn't happen before the start of training camp, it could happen at any point this season.
Source: Elliotte Friedman on X
Source for Phil Kessel's statistics: Hockey DB
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 13 | 197 ANSWERS Elliotte Friedman shares an update on Phil Kessel's NHL future ahead of the season Do you think Phil Kessel will play in the NHL during the 2024-25 season? | ||
| Yes | 72 | 36.5 % |
| No | 125 | 63.5 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Roman Josi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kyle Palmieri | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Samuel Girard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Claude Giroux | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Oliver Kylington | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||