We posed that query back in August, and now that the season is halfway over and NHL teams might begin considering whether it would be wise for them to carry on with Kessel’s Hall of Fame career, we wanted to know what Bruins supporters thought about the Bruins’ pursuit of signing Kessel. Amazingly, the results of our survey on were evenly divided.
Undoubtedly, the Boston Bruins’ acquisition of the veteran winger as an unrestricted free agent has the potential to be a fantastic full-circle tale for both the player and the franchise, but that is unlikely to transpire.
Just before the 2023–24 regular season began, on October 2, Phil Kessel, whom the Boston Bruins selected fifth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, turned 36. Since then, he has been waiting for another opportunity to play in the NHL. Pierre LeBrun of TSN NHL Insiders reported just over two weeks ago that Kessel was considering staying in game shape while in the Swiss League.
Phil Kessel, a free agent, is still waiting for an NHL opportunity, thus the door is still open, LeBrun tweeted. However, I’ve heard that he’s considering possibly participating in some Swiss League matches in the interim. Nothing is settled upon just yet.
Eliotte Friedman claimed prior to the season that the three-time Stanley Cup winner might be open to giving up his unbreakable record and signing on as an NHL team’s thirteenth forward. From Friedman, August 31, 31
The three-time Stanley Cup winner plans to return to competition in 2023–2024. The most important information, though, is that he has informed teams that it won’t be a concern if he isn’t a regular player.
As the only player in NHL history to have played in at least 1,000 consecutive games, Kessel is known as the league’s Ironman. With 1,064 games remaining, he has 75 more streak than Keith Yandle, whose record Kessel broke the previous season. (Kessel didn’t play in every Vegas playoff game, but the postseason isn’t taken into account when recording the most straight games played.)
Teams should be made aware of this information ahead of time since, in the event that a player does not buy-in, breaking these streaks can be extremely stressful. For instance, when the Panthers attempted to scratch Yandle from the starting lineup at the beginning of the 2020–21 season, teammates from Florida made it very evident how they felt. He didn’t skip any matches.
Would it make sense for Kessel to have a professional tryout with the Boston Bruins in order to be a spark to be brought in from the press box every few games, given that the team is currently trying out rookie Georgii Merkulov in the bottom six forward group as they search for more offense?
That would be ironic, considering his history with the Bruins, both as an opponent and during his tenure here. It’s important to remember that Kessel and the Bruins didn’t exactly have a cordial exit. Due to a contract impasse with former Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, Kessel asked for a trade after registering 66 goals and 60 assists in 222 regular season games and nine goals and six assists in 15 playoff games. Blair Seguin, a 2010 first-round pick (Tyler Seguin), a 2010 second-round pick (Jared Knight), and a 2011 first-round pick (Dougie Hamilton) were the items that Chiarelli transferred to the Toronto Maple Leafs after failing to find a buyer in then-general manager Brian Burke. A five-year, $27 million deal was later inked by the 21-year-old restricted free agent with the Leafs.
The Bruins later traded all three of the players they selected with those picks, with Seguin and Hamilton leaving before they reached their peak.
However, Kessel did make the list of the Top 100 Bruins ever, and the past is the past. His goal in the sixth game of the 2008 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Montreal Canadiens sent TD Garden into a frenzy and contributed to the franchise’s revival, which has been successful for the past sixteen years.