GDT: Pens vs Leafs-scape goal Phil returns [Converted]

[mikebel111*]

Kessel is back boys. Wonder what reaction he gets at ACC?
Let's hopefully get a win but also continue seeing progression from our future guys like Kadri, Rielly and Gardiner
Go Leafs Go!

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[Peasy]

No tribute for Kessel tomorrow.

Quick everyone talk about how much the Leafs organization hates Kessel.

 

[yubbers]

 

[Durrr]

Hope he gets a little cheers, then followed by nothing for the rest of the game. Guy might have not accomplished much here besides personal stats (and thats not his fault), but at least he wanted to be here.

 

[Mats13]

Hope he gets a little cheers, then followed by nothing for the rest of the game. Guy might have not accomplished much here besides personal stats (and thats not his fault), but at least he wanted to be here.

This is lost on a lot of people. Think of Kessel what you will, at least he wanted to be here. Something that can't be said for a lot of "good ol' Ontario boys"

 

[BIitz]

Easily my favorite Leaf during the ****** years he was here. At least he gave us a reason to watch. Blistering speed and a wicked wristah. Say what you want about him, but he never had any talent to play with here. One last walk down memory lane.. one of the nastiest releases I've seen. Watch the slo-mo at 55 seconds. Joe Bowen's "Holy Mackinaw!" call after a Kessel snipe will forever be engraved in my memory.



Inb4 "but he never won anything!" an argument conveniently swept under the rug when considering your favorite player of this failure of a franchise for the last 50 years.

 

[mikebel111*]

Easily my favorite Leaf during the ****** years he was here. At least he gave us a reason to watch. Blistering speed and a wicked wristah. Say what you want about him, but he never had any talent to play with here. One last walk down memory lane.. one of the nastiest releases I've seen. Watch the slo-mo at 55 seconds. Joe Bowen's "Holy Mackinaw!" call after a Kessel snipe will forever be engraved in my memory.



Inb4 "but he never won anything!" an argument conveniently swept under the rug when considering your favorite player of this failure of a franchise for the last 50 years.

Agreed. He has his faults but he was amazing to watch on the ice. Its pretty amazing how he finished at or near PPG playing with terrible C's like Bozak. Would have been nice if they tried Kadri with him over*a large sample size but nope.
Whatever he is in a better place now and wish him the best. Never said anything bad about the city and fans. Too bad some fans and media were 100% trying to blame him for the faults of other players and the team. Wont see such an electrifying player with his skill as a Leaf for a long time probably. However with the rebuild starting, he had to go do it was the right move but he was a great player here.

 

[Swervin81]

Burke and Nonis deserve the blame for trying to build a ****** team around Kessel when it's abundantly clear he's not a franchise player. I'm not gonna blame Kessel for being asked to do something he quite clearly was not capable of doing (being a franchise player).

 

[mikebel111*]

Burke and Nonis deserve the blame for trying to build a ****** team around Kessel when it's abundantly clear he's not a franchise player. I'm not gonna blame Kessel for being asked to do something he quite clearly was not capable of doing (being a franchise player).

Thank you!

 

[mikebel111*]

Basically Phil was already set up to fail from the start when he was brought in to lead a team

Kessel isnt capable and he simply isnt that type of player

 

[firstemperor]

I guess I'm in the minority here, I thought Kessel was superbly overrated here. A great transition talent (and a great finisher), no doubt. But a one-dimensional talent like that with absolutely no possession/2 way game in today's league is not a good player overall.

He gave everything up on the other end and then some. How many times did we see him go on a odd man rush for about 5 seconds then proceed to be hemmed in his zone for the rest of his shift?

I thought Burke severely overpayed for Kessel and I still hard a hard time fathoming it. Glad he's (Burke) gone. I sincerely wish the best of luck to Kessel but I don't miss him at all as a hockey player. I do think he has a role in today's league, to an extent (especially due to the value of special teams play in scoring- PP), but at the price Nonis paid, it was outrageous even in a rising cap.

 

[mikebel111*]

I guess I'm in the minority here, I thought Kessel was superbly overrated here. A great transition talent (and a great finisher), no doubt. But a one-dimensional talent like that with absolutely no possession/2 way game in today's league is not a good player overall.

He gave everything up on the other end and then some. How many times did we see him go on a odd man rush for about 5 seconds then proceed to be hemmed in his zone for the rest of his shift?

I thought Burke severely overpayed for Kessel and I still hard a hard time fathoming it. Glad he's (Burke) gone. I sincerely wish the best of luck to Kessel but I don't miss him at all as a hockey player.

It doesnt matter what your opinion of Kessel is, what matters is that our 2 former idiot GM's tried to.make him into a franchise player and leader when he isnt one

You cant blame Kessel for the GM's idiotically making a team base around him when Kessel isnt capable of leading a team
That is not on Kessel. That is on Burke and Nonis.

 

[diceman934]

Kessel's effort level was on him.....his fear of getting hit was on him. His lack of working out in the off season was on him.

The team being crap was on the GM's.

I have not missed Kessel at all...I hope we hit him every chance we get!

 

[cookie]

Kessel thrived in one of the worst situations a young player could have been given. Known for being a one-dimensional sniper, Kessel rounded out his offensive game so well that he regularly made the league's top-10 scoring list and became a consistent point per game scorer. All of this without the help of a legitimate first line center and also having to deal with a struggling power forward. He led the team in scoring in the best of times and in the worst of times. For all the skills Marner and Nylander might have, they will have a hard time scoring at Kessel's clip.

This should be the kind of guy you should have tributes for. Not career 4th line face puncher Tie Domi, whose shenanigans arguably cost the team a playoff series vs NJ. Career super-pest Darcy Tucker who fell off the face of the Earth and had to be bought out. Legends say we're still paying him to this day.

There's no respect for Kessel from a city that keeps the lunchpail guys close to heart. I suppose playing every game and being hounded because you're the only attacking threat on a team bereft of talent are the qualities I'll remember most about Kessel. Some might say that he had compete issues... I'd say that the Leafs were never built to compete in the first place. A lot of the time if Kessel was neutralized the entire team would not be able to pick up the slack.

 

[Rogie]

Such a talented player.

I think he's elite offensively.

It's sad because he could be sooooooooooooo much more.

I don't miss him at all.

 

[thewave]

Kessel thrived in one of the worst situations a young player could have been given. Known for being a one-dimensional sniper, Kessel rounded out his offensive game so well that he regularly made the league's top-10 scoring list and became a consistent point per game scorer. All of this without the help of a legitimate first line center and also having to deal with a struggling power forward. He led the team in scoring in the best of times and in the worst of times. For all the skills Marner and Nylander might have, they will have a hard time scoring at Kessel's clip.

This should be the kind of guy you should have tributes for. Not career 4th line face puncher Tie Domi, whose shenanigans arguably cost the team a playoff series vs NJ. Career super-pest Darcy Tucker who fell off the face of the Earth and had to be bought out. Legends say we're still paying him to this day.

There's no respect for Kessel from a city that keeps the lunchpail guys close to heart. I suppose playing every game and being hounded because you're the only attacking threat on a team bereft of talent are the qualities I'll remember most about Kessel. Some might say that he had compete issues... I'd say that the Leafs were never built to compete in the first place. A lot of the time if Kessel was neutralized the entire team would not be able to pick up the slack.

I said we should work with him if the rake wasn't good enough. It likely wasn't. That being said, what you are saying here is accurate IMHO.

He was fun to watch. He is a good player and the organization gave him second rate linemates. 1c problem was never addressed and he carried the line if not the team at times albeit mostly care of the pp. the weak 5v5 stats lines I generally chalk up to and insufficient C and equally weak counterpart on the other wing-we never insulated 81.

Nonis was a tool if not a fool or both. The instrument of this teams total demise and cause for the complete rebuild... Probably long overdue anyways.

 

[BeleafInShanaplan]

I hope he struggles against us and phaneuf flattens him haha. But more likely to see him flying down the wing and sniping one.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

Yeah, he will probably get 1 goal at least against us. Facing Phaneuf is not the same as facing Chara from a few years ago. Bet he is eager to get this game over with. Actually think he will do the classy thing and score a goal and then dont celebrate to much but just gently wave his arma a bit.

Dont miss him one bit but is rather pleased he is no longer a Leaf. Watching him in his first couple of penguin days sitting on the bench sulking, shaking his head with slopped shoulders because he missed a chance or two reinforce my belief that it was the right thing to trade him for the return we got. Especially since we are rebuilding and will promote a lot of youngsters.

Being the 3rd/4th best player on a team probably suits him a lot better and he is no longer some one who can even be mistaken as a leader figure.

 

[Rayzorexe]

Philson!

He's probably gonna net a goal and an assist tonight with Malkin. Watch Crosby break out with 4 points tonight considering how bad we tend to play on Back to Back nights.

Predicting a 5 - 2 score maybe...

 

[Budsfan]

Maple Leafs-Pittsburgh Penguins: Game preview
Phil Kessel is sure to receive a loud welcome back from the Air Canada Centre crowd.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2015/10/30/maple-leafs-pittsburgh-penguins-game-preview.html

By: Kevin McGran Sports Reporter, Published on Fri Oct 30 2015

AIR CANADA CENTRE

Puck drop: 7 p.m.

TV: CBC

Radio: TSN 1050

Key matchup: Phil Kessel vs. Morgan Rielly.

Kessel is sure to receive a loud welcome back from the Air Canada Centre crowd. Whether they will be cheers or boos remains to be seen. Rielly is playing more and more against the other team’s top players and will be relied upon to keep the dangerous Kessel off the board.

Need to know: Evgeni Malkin has three game-winning goals, tops in the NHL. He leads the Penguins with 51 career points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 28 games against the Maple Leafs . . . Sidney Crosby has 49 points (21 goals, 28 assists) in 32 career games against Toronto . . . The Pens have won six of their past seven games.

Up Next: Monday vs. Dallas at the ACC, 7:30 p.m., Sportsnet

 

[Cor]

Hopefully Dion cranks up the band... maybe catch Kessel with his head down. Welcome him back to Toronto.

Don't hurt him of course, but say thanks for that second half of last season.

 

[Budsfan]

 

[TMLegend]

Kessel's effort level was on him.....his fear of getting hit was on him. His lack of working out in the off season was on him.

The team being crap was on the GM's.

I have not missed Kessel at all...I hope we hit him every chance we get!

Well said!

 

[Budsfan]

Game Review: Game #9, New York Rangers 3 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 1

Read more at: https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2015...-new-york-rangers-3-vs-toronto-maple-leafs-1/

– Another assist for Phaneuf. This is the first time Dion has been below 23 and a half minutes on average — he’s down at 21:47/game — and his production has him tied for seventh in the NHL among defencemen with seven assists in nine games. Whether the objective is to keep Dion around throughout this rebuild or to try to off load the contract, Mike Babcock getting more from less with Dion is an early success story amid this one-win-in-nine-games start.

Read more at: https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2015...-new-york-rangers-3-vs-toronto-maple-leafs-1/

 

[Mess]

Kessel has been replaced as Leafs top line RW.

Komarov
9 games 4 goals 1 assist 5 points (shooting % = 22.2)

verses

Kessel (with Crosby)
10 games 4 goals 2 assists 6 points. (shooting % = 11.4)

Uncle Leo has replaced Kessel offense.