A surprising and forgotten name about to be engraved on the Stanley Cup for a third time?
You may not have noticed or even forgotten, but Phil Kessel is part of the Vegas Golden Knights organization. After playing the 82 regular season games for the team as well as the first 4 playoff games, he was benched by head coach Bruce Cassidy, upon William Carrier's return.
In 82 games this year, the 35-year-old player scored 14 goals and 22 assists. His 36 points were the lowest of his career since his rookie season in 2006-07. He added 2 points, in his four appearances in the current playoffs.
His removal from the lineup did not prevent the veteran from keeping his good humor. His teammates recently mentioned that he was still as funny and brought a nice spirit of positivity to the locker room. Hats off to him!
Kessel knows what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. He won it twice during his stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins, in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. A possible conquest of the Cup by the Golden Knights would therefore put his name on the holy grail of hockey for the third time.
Indeed, a name can be inscribed on the Cup if it meets one of the following two criteria:
Having participated in at least one game during the Stanley Cup Final."
With his 82 regular season games, the veteran will therefore be eligible for this honor.
Kessel, who holds the record for the most consecutive games played (1,064), will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It will be interesting to see if a team will offer him a contract so that he can extend his record by a few games...
| POLL | ||
Would you sign Phil Kessel, for one season, at the minimum salary? | ||
| Yes | 58 | 39.5 % |
| No | 89 | 60.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
