The Leafs should bring out Phil Kessel for the NHL All-Star draft in Toronto
In just three short days, the Toronto Maple Leafs will kick off their first time hosting NHL All-Star Weekend in 24 years.
It all gets going this Thursday, when the league will host its first All-Star player draft since 2015, with four teams picking from the NHL’s crop of 44 players for Saturday’s game.
And while there’s the usual list of suspects of team alumni — such as Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Curtis Joseph, and Tomas Kaberle — that will probably be spotted around the city over the coming week, nothing would quite stir up a certain section of the Leafs’ fan base more than bringing old friend Phil Kessel back out in Toronto.
For those who don’t remember, one of the most infamous moments in Kessel’s career came back on All-Star weekend back in 2011, where he was picked last in the player draft, being left to captain Nicklas Lidstrom in the 18th and final round.
It might’ve been a moment lost to time, but the lasting image of Alexander Ovechkin laughing relentlessly at Kessel while taking photos of him with his BlackBerry became the fodder of both internet memes and TV highlight shows for years to come.
Kessel, of course, had quite the career after that moment: he’d finish top-10 in NHL scoring in each of the three following seasons before winning three Stanley Cups after leaving Toronto in a 2015 trade: two with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017, and one more with Vegas last season.
But he made the playoffs just once in his time in Toronto across six seasons and ended his tenure in Toronto while often being the target of much criticism for the team’s poor fortunes. Given his success elsewhere, it’s fair to realize that perhaps Kessel wasn’t the key issue with those early 2010s Leafs teams but rather the failure to build alongside a player of his talent level.
A veteran of 1,286 NHL games, Kessel is currently a free agent and has yet to sign on anywhere for this season.
If Toronto wants to make their All-Star Weekend one to remember, bringing back Kessel as a surprise guest for the draft would definitely make headlines. Have Kessel make a selection or two, do a quick on-stage interview, and let everyone be reminded of the strong bond between player and city.
It’d be some fun, easy press for Toronto and a nice reunion for a player who exited the franchise on less-than-ideal terms when traded away some eight-and-a-half years ago.
And it’d even remind the general NHL population that, hey, Kessel is still available for the second half of the season, should any of the league’s 32 teams be interested in his services.
Ovechkin won’t be there in Toronto this time around; he wasn’t selected for the game and is already off vacationing in Dubai, as per his Instagram.
But if the All-Star Game is an opportunity to celebrate the Leafs’ history, they should truly celebrate all of it and invite Kessel out as a full-circle moment to announce a pick or two.
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