Phil Kessel: Pens fans be warned

Phil Kessel was on the hot-seat going into the offseason after an epic Maple Leafs collapse. He wasn’t the only player to blame, but ended up being the only one shipped out this offseason.

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Phil Kessel, Tyler Biggs, and Tim Erixon were traded for Kasperi Kapanen, Nick Spaling, Scott Harrington and a conditional first-rounder. GM Jim Rutherford isn’t a stupid man. He knows there’s factors that could ultimately make the Pens a lottery team and didn’t wanna risk losing a quality pick.

Phil Kessel doesn’t exactly have the best track record either. Sure, he’s ranked 37th in scoring since 2005-06, but he’s been a minus player in 8 of his 9 NHL seasons. 2 of 3 of those during his time in Boston, with 6 straight years in Toronto.

It’s understandable playing with the teams he did. But we’re talking about a guy who was among the top in the league many seasons in team goals against when on the ice. He’s basically a much more skilled version of Olli Jokinen.

Below is the table listing the very bottom for plus/minus between 2005-06 to present. Tyler Bozak takes a lot of heat for his play, but isn’t on the ice for as many goals as Kessel.

It says something about your defensive game as a forward when you can be on the ice for so many goals and still come out with a terrible +/-. I know Kessel gets a lot of PP points so it doesn’t count for his +/-, but it doesn’t change the NHL.com stats for TMGA.

#	Player	GP	G	A	TP	PPG	PIMS	+/-
2101	Jamal Mayers	547	54	82	136	0.25	753	-69
2102	Ed Jovanovski	485	59	157	216	0.45	464	-71
2103	Nail Yakupov	192	42	46	88	0.46	78	-72
2104	Tyler Bozak	379	95	137	232	0.61	106	-74
2105	Phil Kessel	668	247	273	520	0.78	196	-75
2106	Vincent Lecavalier	696	265	339	604	0.87	542	-75
2107	Bruno Gervais	418	16	71	87	0.21	182	-81
2108	Jay McClement	764	82	143	225	0.29	283	-91
2109	Sam Gagner	562	116	220	336	0.6	272	-105
2110	Jack Johnson	569	52	178	230	0.4	375	-110

You’ve officially been warned Pens fans

On Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars open their season down in Texas with a much anticipated Phil Kessel skating alongside Sidney Crosby to open the season.

Sep 22, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Phil Kessel (81) on the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, Penguins fans are doing exactly what Maple Leafs fans did when they first acquired Phil Kessel. That’s focusing on the wrong aspects of his game. The “Hockey Writers” have gone as far to say that the Leafs made a mistake that could win the Pens a Stanley Cup.

Other people are focusing on the environment in which Phil Kessel had to work under. It is often a market scrutinized because of media over-exposure and a fan base that is known to be relentless on its players.

Two problems with that theory. Are some fans unfamiliar with how brutal the Montreal Canadiens fan base can be on a player who’s performing poorly. Or even one bad goal. We saw it on opening night between Montreal and Toronto when Leafs fans gave a sarcastic roar after Jonathan Bernier made his first save after allowing the first shot attempt on goal to go in.

Habs fans are just as relentless, sometimes even harsher. This isn’t something new. Players have thrived in both environments. Mats Sundin played for several Leafs teams that were never good enough, and he’s a beloved past Maple Leafs player. Being loved by the fan base in such a passionate hockey city isn’t all that difficult. It means getting the job done on the ice and leading by example. Phil did not do that.

An article broke on Sports Illustrated basically explaining how Phil Kessel doesn’t care what anyone thinks about his perceived effort levels or attitude towards the media. This is a classic representation of what Phil Kessel offers on the ice. He doesn’t care, unless the puck is on his stick.

Don’t fall victim to the Phil Kessel trap that most Leafs fans did. Most Toronto fans were mesmerized by his offensive skills and his abilities with the puck. Don’t get me wrong, he ranks among the top for what he does with the puck on his stick.

But the problem is what he does when the puck isn’t on his stick. Do yourself a favor and watch that facet of his game opposed to his offensive skill. Glaring issues will arise. For one, he doesn’t use the body at all. 10-15 hits a season proves that.

He has incredible speed that he loves to use with the puck. He floats a lot without the puck though. He doesn’t use that incredible speed to come back and pick up players in the defensive zone. 9 times out of 10 he’s the last man back and does a poor job covering his area in the defensive zone.

If he engages in a race for the puck, he’ll only take the hit if he can clearly win and trap the puck in his skates, but he usually does his best to avoid the contact. If it’s a close puck race, he prefers to use his stick to poke at the puck instead of hitting the player and using a mix of his skates and stick to retrieve the puck. If he’s going to lose the puck race, he simply peels away.

On the topic of peeling away. Remember when you were a kid and coaches taught you that when you lose the puck, you use your stops and starts to regain control instead of turning away from the play? Well Phil Kessel never learnt that skill and by this time, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Another thing to keep an eye on. See if Sidney puts up with Phil Kessel’s insistence on holding the puck for too long in the offensive zone. He has the tendency to look for that perfect shot instead of making a good pass. Often these shots find their way into opposing shin pads, miss the net, or hit the goalie’s chest. It’s only those rare instances where his sneaky snap shot finds an impossible hole. He’s even more prevalent to doing this on the powerplay.

When you take the time to center out Phil Kessel when he’s on the ice and watch him exclusively, his game is enough to drive any hockey fan crazy. This is your word of warning Penguins fans. These are the issues to watch for heading into the 2015-16 season.

I’m not sure what influence Gary Roberts had for him in the offseason. But if you want any hope of winning with Phil Kessel, the above issues that have plagued him throughout his entire career from Boston to Toronto need to be resolved.

One thing is for sure, it probably won’t take long for Sidney Crosby to get frustrated by Kessel’s defensive deficiencies. Penguins fans will need to hope their defense steps up in a big way this year (a full healthy season from Kris Letang would help). Otherwise, the Pens could be battling as a bubble team come late March-early April.

Next: Los Angeles Kings Trade Rumors

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