Where Kessel could fit in the Canucks' lineup

The Vancouver Canucks won a game on Tuesday, but that was far from the biggest story in town.

Phil Kessel’s arrival in Vancouver temporarily overtook Canucks social media, and that was amplified after the Canucks confirmed he was in town to skate with the team.

Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has a strong relationship with Kessel, having coached him in Arizona and Pittsburgh. When asked about Kessel by Sportsnet’s Luke Fox during All-Star weekend, Tocchet echoed his belief in the player.

“There’s value in Phil, I think he can still play, 100%,” Tocchet told Fox.

However, his enthusiasm with Phil was more muted when asked about how he fits into the Canucks’ lineup following the team’s victory over Chicago.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him skate,” Tocchet told The Athletic’s Scott Powers, “I have to see how he’s skating down there, to be honest with you.”

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The fit isn’t straightforward, so let’s break down whether this could actually work.

How could Canucks use Kessel?

Kessel brings a lot of skills to the table. He’s the 12th-highest-scoring American forward of all time.

And over his last few NHL seasons, he’s seen time as both a sniper and a playmaker.

In Arizona, Kessel did more of the latter. He was a mentor for a young Coyotes team, largely playing alongside Lawson Crouse and Clayton Keller. Those were two of his most common linemates while Tocchet was head coach in Arizona.

In Vegas, he rediscovered his role as a sniper, with his shots per-60 totals taking a jump. He was most commonly on Vegas’ third line with Chandler Stephenson and Paul Cotter while also playing on the second power-play unit alongside William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Nicholas Roy, and Alex Pietrangelo.

It’s clear when watching Kessel play that he has a lot of skill with the puck on his stick. He also has a pretty stellar hockey IQ, at least offensively. As his former teammate Shane Hnidy put it, “You can’t play that long, be that successful, and not put yourself in vulnerable situations if you don’t have a high hockey IQ.”

Kessel does avoid putting himself in vulnerable situations, which is part of the reason why he’s not necessarily known as a good 200-foot player.

That brings us to his fit with the Canucks.

J.T. Miller’s line still faces off against the opposition’s best players on a nightly basis, so an All-American line with Miller and Boeser doesn’t make a ton of sense. It also makes nearly no sense to break up the Canucks’ third line.

That leaves Kessel’s even-strength fit down to two options.

He’s most likely joining the Canucks to be a depth player and an insurance policy. Either a spot in the press box or on the Canucks’ fourth line, where there’s been a rotation of wingers such as Phil Di Giuseppe, Sam Lafferty, Ilya Mikheyev, and Nils Höglander, is where he’d most likely fit.

However, there’s an argument to be made that Kessel could play on Pettersson’s line in spot duty. The Canucks superstar has had a rotating cast of wingers all season long. Although Höglander is doing his best to hold down a spot on that line, Kessel could conceivably play some shifts alongside Pettersson, considering that both players have excelled as both snipers and playmakers in the past.

Legendary dressing room presence

Now, Kessel clearly still has to show the Canucks brass that he can play if they’re going to sign him. However, it’s no secret that his impact goes beyond just what he brings on the ice.

“He’s probably one of, if not the most, likeable teammate I’ve ever played with,” Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said last season.

“Brings a smile to your face when you come into the rink every day… you can count on him bringing good vibes to the dressing room, and he’s been one of my favourite teammates I’ve ever played with.”

That’s high praise from Stone, who’s been in the NHL for a dozen seasons before helping Vegas win the Stanley Cup.

The stories of Kessel bringing the good vibes are aplenty. That includes him telling Golden Knights teammates that he’d be pissed off if they made him fly back to Florida for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

It includes Kessel challenging Tocchet to do chin ups prior to Pittsburgh playing the Washington Capitals in a Game 7 matchup back in 2017.

“That team needed personality, and Phil brought that,” Tocchet said on the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast back in 2019. “[Pittsburgh] was a very serious group before he got there, and Phil lightened the load. I gotta give him a lot of credit. He did bring a personality to that room.”

While the Canucks are the best team in the NHL right now, this isn’t a group with a lot of playoff experience. It’s also a group that Tocchet has referred to as “quiet” on a few occasions.

If Kessel proves he’s still got game, then bringing him in on a cheap one-year deal makes a ton of sense for the Canucks locker room.