Kessel 'a little surprised' to still be unsigned
Published
Free agent Phil Kessel continues to look for a landing spot to play his 18th NHL season after going unsigned in the off-season.
“I’m staying ready,” Kessel told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic. “I’ve been skating. In the next week, I’m going to work with a skating guy here [in Arizona]. We’re going to do individual sessions to stay ready.
“Obviously, I’m a little surprised I haven’t got anything yet, but it is what it is, right?”
Kessel, 36, spent last season with the Vegas Golden Knights, winning his third Stanley Cup while sitting out the majority of the team’s playoff run.
He played out last season on a one-year, $1.5 million deal as he extended to the ironman streak to 1,064 games.
The veteran winger reiterated to LeBrun he is not concerned over seeing the streak end and added he is willing to sign with any team.
“I know I can still play and can still help,” Kessel said. “For the minutes I played last year, I thought my numbers were pretty solid, right? So I know I can help a team and contribute to a team which needs scoring.
“I think I can play pretty much up and down a lineup, because I’ve done it for a long time.”
Kessel scored 14 goals and added 22 assists in 82 games last season with Vegas. The winger appeared in four playoff games as the Golden Knights defeated the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, but was a scratch for the remainder of the team's run.
Kessel currently sits 11th among active players with 992 points and 12th in goals with 413 over his 1,286 career games split between the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes and Golden Knights.