An update on Phil Kessel's NHL future

UPDATE: According to a report from NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the NHL's all-time Ironman Phil Kessel ain't ready to pack it in just yet.

Despite no action in free agency and no offers to join training camp on a PTO, Kessel is still not ready to announce his retirement. Instead, he and his agent continue to solicit NHL teams for a new contract.

From LeBrun for The Athletic:

Phil Kessel is not contemplating retirement yet. He’s eager to catch on with an NHL team on a PTO to prove himself.

A couple of teams have stayed in touch with his agent, Wade Arnott, on it. They wanted to see how things played out in their camps and preseason early on before circling back.

Kessel skated with NHL players in Arizona before camps opened and is training and keeping in shape. I’m told he doesn’t care about his regular season ironman streak if teams were worried about dealing with that. He would be open to missing games and playing whatever role was asked of him.

- Pierre LeBrun

The thing is... who wants to be the coach who scratches Kessel and ruins his Ironman streak?

I understand that Kessel says it's not important to him, but hockey players will say just about anything to get a contract. I can't see any team being interested in Kessel at this point, unfortunately.

Read below for our earlier report on Kessel, published last week by Hockey Feed staff writer Christine Goose.

Earlier this week, Spittin Chiclets Podcast posted online that, following the many announcements of different veteran players getting a shot with teams across the National Hockey League thanks to a professor tryout contract (PTO), Phil Kessel should be able to return and crack one of the 32 rosters.

Everyone would love to see Kessel back in the NHL, especially after he missed out on signing as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks ahead of this past trade deadline in March.

Kessel has now missed an entire season and fans are starting to be concerned about what could be the forward’s plan for the 2024-25 campaign.

On Friday, Elliotte Friedman provided an update on Kessel as training camps are just around the corner, with the insider sharing on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the 36-year-old forward still hopes to play this upcoming season, saying he REALLY wants to continue playing in the NHL.

And I can only imagine that most fans across the NHL also want Kessel to continue playing in the league. Selected fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2006, Kessel has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona 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 did not play last season.

He needs to get a chance this time around. As we await from one team to pick up the phone and offer him a professional tryout (PTO), clubs needs to be reminded how Kessel could be great added depth and leadership on any roster. He played in all 82 games with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022-23 and put up 14 goals and 22 assists. He only played four games in the playoffs and the Knights went on to capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. He also owns the NHL’s iron man streak with 1,064 consecutive regular-season games played.

The beloved forward needs to play more games and clearly per Friedman, Kessel is highly motivated and still has a lot in the tank.

Get him signed ASAP!