Phil Kessel RUMORS & NEWS

Toronto Star "There is no Klassic Kessel goal. Not the peerless one-timer of an Alex Ovechkin. Not the quintessential wrister of an Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby. Not the sublime backhander of a Mats Sundin. Certainly not the rocket of a Zdeno Chara. But give the Leaf sniper just a sliver of open space to..." May 06

NESN "The Phil Kessel storyline is one that’s not going away anytime soon in the first-round series between the Maple Leafs and Bruins, especially after Saturday’s Game 2. The former Bruins forward, who has had more than his share of misery against his old team, went a long way in erasing any of..." May 05

Boston Herald "The first time Phil Kessel touched the puck Wednesday, he heard the noise. Over 17,000 fans at the Garden booed the former Bruin mercifully as he collected the puck right above the left faceoff circle. That was only 1:43 into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals and the night didn’t..." May 03

Toronto Star "You know that wind-burning burst of speed that Phil Kessel can turn on when flying up the ice? Whoosh and he’s away. He’s even faster on dry land. The Leaf sniper, possibly the most media-averse athlete in professional sports, left a horde of journalists eating his dust after practice on Monday,..." April 30

Toronto Star "James Reimer is on a roll and making believers of the hockey world after beating a couple of future hall of famers in back-to-back games. Reimer stopped 31 of 34 shots to backstop the Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers, his first career win over that Original..." April 09

Toronto Sun "Somewhere deep in the manual of hockey cliches is buried the one decreeing that, for a team to have sustained success, its best players have to be the best on the ice most nights. If you’re willing to buy that, how do the Leafs measure up in that department? For the sake of the argument, we..." March 11

Toronto Sun "Come Thursday night when the Maple Leafs roll into Boston, you can bet gleeful Bruins fans will break into familiar chants of “Thank You Kessel,” Beantown’s unofficial No. 1 hit. With the Bruins having used two of the three draft picks from the Phil Kessel trade to select stud forward Tyler..." March 07

Toronto Star "Phil Kessel wants to be a Maple Leaf for life. So says his agent, Wade Arnott, who went on Toronto radio Wednesday to say so. “Phil (Kessel) is still a really young man,” Arnott told the SportsNet Fan590. “He really enjoys living in Toronto and playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. “This young..." February 13

The Globe and Mail "One player has six goals, tied for the lead on the team. The other has just one, getting his first in Game 11 on Thursday here in Winnipeg. But when the Toronto Maple Leafs’ wingers chat on the bench, Matt Frattin is the one taking advice from Phil Kessel on where to find openings to..." February 09

Toronto Sun "The Blizzard of 2013 couldn’t keep the Maple Leafs from arriving in Montreal from Winnipeg on Friday night, braving high winds and blinding snow in the process. Of course, if you are Phil Kessel, it must have seemed like a bright sunny mid-summer’s day, given the fact that he finally has hit..." February 09

Toronto Star "It took 46 shots and most of 11 games this season. Heck, it had been more than 10 months since Phil Kessel had scored a goal in an NHL game. But Toronto’s long-languishing sniper finally reminded the hockey world why he has been considered among the game’s elite snipers for most of the past few..." February 08

Toronto Sun "As a giddy Phil Kessel skated by the Maple Leafs bench high-fiving his teammates after finally scoring his first goal of the season, he looked up and locked eyes with Randy Carlyle. Upon further review, it’s hard to say who had the bigger grin. For Kessel, he had just shed a monkey the size..." February 08

Arctic Ice Hockey "Six assists, a league-leading forty-two shots, zero goals. That is Phil Kessel's stat-line through the Toronto Maple Leafs' first ten regular season games. At the same junction point just one year ago, Kessel had already racked up ten of his career high thirty-seven goals -- with an additional..." February 07

Toronto Star "A struggling Alexander Ovechkin has some advice for Maple Leafs winger Phil Kessel, who despite several chances couldn’t beat Capitals goalie Michael Neuvirth in the Leafs 3-2 win in Washington on Tuesday night. “I just wanna give him advice like don’t listen to nobody. Just play your game,” said..." February 06

Habs Eyes On The Prize "Last year Habs fans had a bit of fun at the expense of Scott Gomez, running a count up clock to the one year mark that he went without a goal. Yearly 30 goal a year player and star player of the Toronto Maple Leafs Phil Kessel is hilariously nearing a year without a goal himself. The Leafs have..." February 04

Toronto Sun "Brian Burke's legacy as Maple Leafs general manager should not be judged solely on the Phil Kessel trade. So says Peter Chiarelli, the man who traded Phil the Thrill to Toronto in the first place. With his team being referred to as the "Boston Maple Leafs" because of the number of key..." February 03

Toronto Star "There's only one untouchable on the Maple Leafs. The man with no name. Not Clint Eastwood, or his empty chair. The 2013 first-round draft choice. It is to be protected, retained and cherished, although other teams covet it and have already started suggesting it should be included in..." January 28

Toronto Sun "Phil Kessel has the most points by any Maple Leaf in 13 years. "Doesn't matter," the frustrated winger said after the Leafs lost 6-5 against the Buffalo Sabres in overtime at the First Niagara Center. "Look where we're finishing. If you don't get it done in the win column, it doesn't matter...." April 04

Toronto Sun "Randy Carlyle is all about getting to know the Maple Leafs before the regular season ends, and the Toronto coach should know plenty about Phil Kessel by the time Easter weekend passes. With his running mate, Joffrey Lupul, probably finished with a shoulder injury, the attention that Kessel has..." March 18

Toronto Star "Brian Burke has already had to make one terrible choice, jettisoning his friend of 39 years as the head coach of Canada's most scrutinized hockey team. An even more terrible choice — at least in hockey terms — is looming. Very soon after arriving as saviour of the Maple Leafs, the "Pope" to..." March 15

Toronto Sun "On Tuesday night, Phil Kessel scored, picked up an assist and likely drove new Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle crazy. Carlyle is known to be a strict taskmaster, a coach who demands a solid effort from his players in all three zones of the ice. He expects his scorers to check and to skate hard..." March 07

Toronto Sun "Phil Kessel generally does not wear his emotions on his sleeve when speaking to the media. But the Maple Leafs' leading scorer seemed genuinely saddened when asked on Sunday about his former coach, Ron Wilson. Offensively, Kessel has had back-to-back career seasons under Wilson and the two..." March 05

Toronto Star "By avoiding his usual mid-season slump, speedy Phil Kessel is headed for the best campaign of his NHL career — in the hunt for the scoring title and, perhaps, Hart Trophy consideration. With 30 goals and 30 assists, Kessel also has a chance to become the first Maple Leaf to score 50 goals since..." February 13

Toronto Sun "Every time it seems Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul are losing steam, they get back to being coal-stokers and goalscorers. So no one in the engine room was fretting much on Thursday when the numbers were tallied, Kessel with two goals and one assist the past 10 games, Lupul one goal and four..." February 03

Toronto Sun "It may have been all in fun, but chants of "Leafs suck, Leafs suck," rang out when Zdeno Chara cost Phil Kessel another car Thursday night. With a strong Senators bias, fans packed into the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, across the pond from Ottawa, and razzed Kessel, who last year won a new..." January 27

Toronto Sun "Ron Wilson spent part of Sunday watching the spy flick Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. And Monday morning, the coach of the suddenly ninth-place Maple Leafs engaged in some subterfuge of his own. He switched a goaltender, defenceman and forward to confound any snoops from the Ottawa Senators who..." January 17

Toronto Star "Coach Ron Wilson hopes Tyler Bozak's return to the lineup Tuesday is the answer to getting Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul back on track. After missing seven games (shoulder), Bozak is back and he'll centre the top line with Kessel and Lupul. "He's (Bozak) earned that position with the way..." January 17

Toronto Star "It's an unorthodox bit of chemistry, to be sure. Standard hockey thinking suggests a smart, resourceful centre is required to make any line work and to make good scoring wingers score. Someone has to get shooters the puck in a position to shoot, and without such a player, it's frustration and..." January 13

Toronto Star "Deke-deke-deke-deke-deke-deke. Half a dozen shifts of the head, hips, shoulders — all of Phil Kessel's significant body parts twitching, confounding the goalie, puck on his stick from the red line, beneficiary of a penalty shot awarded. Thinking . . . uh, nothin' much. "Thinking,..." January 08

Toronto Star "The tremendous success enjoyed by Leafs dynamic one-two scoring punch of Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul hasn't surprised coach Ron Wilson. "I thought it (their chemistry) was almost instantaneous last year when Lupul came in and made a difference on the line," Wilson said on Thursday after..." December 16

Toronto Star "Maple Leafs sniper Phil Kessel is now the chaser after falling behind Philadelphia Flyers winger Claude Giroux in the NHL scoring race. Giroux had four points, including the winning goal, in the Flyers' 5-4 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. He now has 36 points, one more..." December 09

Toronto Star "Leafs sniper Phil Kessel ended a six-game goal drought Tuesday night and once again proved he is a different player from the previous two seasons. Kessel hit the scoresheet in the second period of an eventual 3-2 loss in overtime to New Jersey at the Air Canada Centre. His 17th of the season..." December 07

Toronto Sun "Forward Clarke MacArthur has some advice for all those still wishing to talk about the trade that brought Phil Kessel over from the Boston Bruins a couple of seasons back in return for the Leafs top draft pick in 2010, which turned out to be Tyler Seguin: "Get over this trade already." "Both..." December 01

Toronto Star "Just in time for the arrival of his former team, Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel has taken over the lead in the NHL's all-star voting. And captain Dion Phaneuf, linemate Joffrey Lupul and goalie James Reimer are gaining. Kessel, famously picked last in last season's draft of all-star teams,..." November 30

Toronto Sun "Forget for a moment the fresh and yet-to-be-determined injuries to forwards Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur and ask yourself this: Where would the Maple Leafs be this morning if it weren't for the handiwork of Phil Kessel? It may have often been ugly Tuesday night at a dead Air Canada..." November 16

Toronto Sun "Here's a piece of news that's pertinent to all in Leafs Nation. The Maple Leafs managed to make it through a hockey game without making a goaltending change. What's more, they won another road game, this time registering a 3-2 shootout victory at the Scottrade Center against the St. Louis..." November 11

Toronto Sun "Phil Kessel hopes to halt his season-long four-game goalless streak on Tuesday against Florida, before one of those longer slumps that have dogged him sets in. Coach Ron Wilson was willing to cut the NHL's leading scorer a little slack in Saturday's 7-0 loss to Boston, a game where the whole..." November 07

Toronto Star "Jonas Gustavsson just keeps on winning. The Leaf goalie is being cheered again by the faithful at the Air Canada Centre. He'll most likely make his fourth straight start, and sixth straight appearance, when the Leafs venture to Ottawa on Sunday for a game against the Senators. Gustavsson has..." October 30

Toronto Star "The Leafs six day break did nothing to cool off Phil Kessel's scoring touch. The Leafs sniper displayed tremendous hands and skating skills Saturday night as the Leafs returned from a long layoff to pick up a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames at the Air Canada Centre. There was concern from..." October 16

Toronto Star "The argument could be made ht that Dion Phaneuf played his best game as a Maple Leaf on Saturday night. Ditto for Phil Kessel. For sure, Phaneuf had a powerful outing against Ottawa — as did Phil Kessel, with his first hat trick in a Toronto uniform — as the Leafs swamped a hapless Senators..." October 09

Toronto Star "Phil Kessel's philosophy of life is simple. And like most philosophies of life, hard to realize. "Live each day to its fullest, don't get wrapped up too much in silly stuff . . . relax, have fun, don't get too uptight," Kessel said, rambling off a host of stay-positive mantras after another..." October 03

Ottawa Citizen "All Kathy Kessel could think about was that round of golf last summer. The day had started out fairly ordinary. Then, Phil bent a driver over his thigh and Blake spiked his putter into a green. It was embarrassing stuff, said the boys' mother. But it was typical behaviour from two..." September 22

Toronto Star "The key to the whole afternoon was hitting a home run. Not an easy proposition for over a dozen NHLers taking some swings in the Jays batting cage at the Rogers Centre Monday afternoon. In fact, only four of the 15 puck boys on hand managed to clear the fences. The rest certainly left with a..." August 30

Toronto Sun "The trade that will not go away is finally complete. The names are all known only the circumstances remain spotty. When Brian Burke made the polarizing deal for Phil Kessel, he knew it wouldn't disappear quickly. He knew it would be analyzed ad nauseum. He knew there was all kinds of risk..." June 25

Toronto Sun "He's no poster boy for post-game mirth with the media, but Phil Kessel is doing his talking on the ice. A lightning rod for fan criticism of Brian Burke's game plan much of the past two years, Kessel reached 30 goals for the third straight and second straight in Toronto. His most recent 30th on..." April 04

Toronto Sun "Phil Kessel's head is back in the game. So is the rest of his body, which has to keep happening for the Maple Leafs to make a serious charge to a playoff spot. Kessel has eight goals in eight games after going without one in 14 games, and though he might not maintain a goal-a-game clip, he's..." March 03

Toronto Sun "There are nights when you understand Brian Burke's thinking. There are nights when Phil Kessel shows so much offensive flair, so much natural skill, so much domination in both the offensive zone and on the scoresheet that, well, after watching such a show, you can see why the beleaguered Maple..." February 25

Toronto Sun "Rookie goaltender James Reimer has seen enough of Phil Kessel to know it was only a matter of time the Maple Leafs sniper would score a clutch goal against someone else. "He makes me look like a fool all the time in practice," Reimer said following a 2-1 Leafs win over the New York Islanders,..." February 23

Toronto Star "It was one of those historic moments when long-held truths simply vanish, like another Phil Kessel scoring drought. Yes, Tomas Kaberle may indeed waive his no-trade clause. And, yes, Kessel can indeed score against his former team. And score. Period. The Leafs upended the Bruins 4-3 in an..." February 16

Boston Herald "Nine times Phil Kessel had played against his former team and nine times he'd come up empty, with the exception of a lone, winning, shootout goal. But the speedy forward who has become a punching bag for Bruins fans finally hit back. Kessel scored a pair of power-play goals last night,..." February 16