TORONTO — What about Phil?
That thought ran through a few hockey minds when veteran free agent Zach Parise signed his modest half-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche last week.
Parise wasn’t alone when it comes to aging NHL stars still looking to get off the unemployment line, though.
Phil Kessel, on the market since July 1, is still skating hard and staying in shape with the hopes of latching on to a team before the March 8 deadline for playoff eligibility.
Kessel has been in discussions with a few teams. But to the surprise of his supporters, no one has snatched up the 36-year-old winger.
“Super shocked,” Clayton Keller of the Coyotes says.
“I know he’s been working out and skating and hoping for a job here soon. He’s just an unbelievable teammate, one of the best guys that I’ve played with, just in terms of the locker room and how he treats people. He’s always in a good mood. I’m really hoping that he can get a job here soon.”
Keller was teammates with Kessel in Arizona, where the NHL’s reigning ironman lives. The two are close friends who talk daily.
Though Kessel played in all 82 regular-season games for the champion Vegas Golden Knights last season, scoring 14 goals and 22 assists, he appeared in just four playoff games before becoming a healthy scratch. He never sulked, though, and was beloved my his teammates for keeping the room light during their title run.
The three-time champion told us after he lifted the Stanley Cup inside T-Mobile Arena that he had no intention of retiring.
“I want to play,” Kessel said. “I have the desire. I love to play the game still.
“Obviously, I don’t feel old or anything like that. So, you know, I enjoy playing every game, and I’m looking forward to next year, wherever I’m at, and continuing my career.”
Kessel is willing to sign without assurances that his 1,064-consecutive-game streak will continue.
“I think the streak is one thing, but at the end of the day, he just loves the game and he wants to play,” Keller said. “I’m hoping the best for him. I hope he gets a job here soon.”
Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet worked closely with Kessel in both Pittsburgh and Arizona and keeps in touch. He, too, is surprised Kessel is still lingering on the market.
“There’s value in Phil,” Tocchet said. “I think he can still play, 100 per cent.”
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