Why would anyone dislike that? Hes soft, cant handle pressure, hes an entitled diva who wines about the media treating him unfairly when he doesnt even show up in the playoffs. Have you not heard the narrative around Marner? Even large portions of his own fanbase hates him that’s a pretty big red flag.
"One of the most polarizing figures in the NHL right now is Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Phil Kessel. Over the course of his career, he has been accused of being surly with the media and has also been accused by some to be soft on the ice. But, he is also a very skilled player, as he was on Team USA in the Olympics last year and was also selected to the All-Star Game this season.
The former fifth overall selection in the draft has been plagued this season with his mark of minus-20 on his plus/minus, all the while playing for a team that is lacking vision."
Interesting perspective...http://thepensblog.com/2015-archives/on-burning-bridges-phil-kessel-jim-rutherford-and-torching-legacy.html
www.hockeyforums.net
"-34 and $8 million a year may have factored in. When the Leafs
didn't have the puck (which was most of the time) they basically played shorthanded with Phil out there. Ovechkin got shredded for basically doing the same thing the year before....only he still scored 51 goals and actually hit people.
Toronto is a huge hockey town. If Kessel would have put forth even a bit of effort he would have been a sports hero in a city grasping for one. He just couldn't be bothered and deserves most of the negative comments he's getting. He can play A LOT better than he did last year.
Maybe the Toronto media does go overboard about the Leafs.
Maybe? Of course they do. But it goes both ways, and when Kessel is actually trying he can do no wrong. Leaf players (not Pittsburgh media) know this better than anyone. Ask Darcy Tucker Tie Domi. Mats Sundin. Gary Roberts. Doug Gilmour. Wendel Clark. Guys who, you know, broke a sweat out there.
And that's some fine indepth reporting there...sticking up for Phil now that he's a Pen, yet admitting he hasn't seen him play other than against the Pens. in other words, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Bravo!"
Yeah, I should trust these dumb f***s.