Phil Kessel: One of the Best Toronto Maple Leafs Ever

The Toronto Maple Leafs once tried to build a team around Phil Kessel.

It didn’t work.  Not because there is anything wrong with Phil Kessel.  He was the best player on the team, played amazing his whole time here, and is one of the all-time best players to ever wear the uniform of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It didn’t work because the team made terrible decisions when it came to trying to surround Kessel with a team.  They wasted his prime years having Tyler Bozak feed him the puck. Sabotaged themselves by getting rid of Clarke MacArthur and Grabovski, hired terrible coaches and just  basically did the opposite of every move you should make if you want to run a successful team.

But it was never Phil Kessel’s fault. Despite unreasonable and uninformed people making him a scape goat and giving him a hard time he never deserved.

Phil Kessel, One of the All-Time Great Toronto Maple Leafs

It’s a shame to think of all the kids who worshiped Kessel and who probably cried when he was traded.  It sucks to think of all the wasted potential and what could have been.  As much as I can look back now and say that Burke was a terrible GM, at the time I loved what they were doing.

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I wanted the Leafs to win with the Kessel/Phaneuf team more than I’ve ever wanted a team to win.  I even felt vindicated just a short time ago when the Leafs signed them to twin seven-year extensions.  But it just wasn’t to be.

Phil Kessel had to be traded, and out of the deal came (eventually) a last place finish, and Auston Matthews.  This is a good trade-off, and as great as it is to see one of the classiest, nicest guys get the last laugh by winning not one, but two, Stanley Cups, it does suck that it wasn’t for the Leafs.

Regardless, seeing Kessel all over social-media today as he brought the Cup to Toronto (in, I guess, the second best way possible) just got me thinking about how good he was, and how under-appreciated.

Nylander, Marner and Matthews are still too young, so Kessel maintains the title of best non-Sundin Toronto Maple Leafs player of the last 20 years.

Next: Toronto Maple Leafs RoundTable

He scored 181 goals and is 18th all-time for the Leafs in goal-scoring, despite playing in just 446 for the franchise and playing in one of the lowest scoring eras ever.  Kessel’s 394 points rank him 18th all-time in points too.

Phil Kessel, we salute you and will always begrudge the loser who tried to run you out of town.