Rick Tocchet’s favorite Phil Kessel story involves a chin-up challenge and $300. Oh, and a must-win NHL playoff game against a hated rival.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins were preparing for a second-round Game 7 against the Washington Capitals on May 10, 2017. Kessel, a right wing who signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Golden Knights on Wednesday, was walking around the Capitals’ visiting locker room two hours before the game with his coffee when he saw a chin-up bar. He saw Tocchet in the hallway and bet the then-Pittsburgh assistant coach $200 that he couldn’t do nine chin-ups. Tocchet raised the avid poker player to $300. Game on.
With players peeking out of the locker room and stopping their pregame soccer warmup to watch, Tocchet did 10 chin-ups in his suit. He received huge cheers, collected his winnings and then watched the Penguins win 2-0 to get one step closer to a second straight Cup.
Kessel’s pregame stunt isn’t the sole reason Pittsburgh advanced — Marc-Andre Fleury’s 29 saves certainly helped — but Tocchet thinks it loosened up the team. And Kessel’s demeanor is one of many ways he can contribute to a Knights as they seek to return to the playoffs.
“Those are things Phil does,” said Tocchet, now a studio analyst on TNT. “There’s pressure situations, he lightens the mood. That was his way of just telling the guys ‘Hey, we got this.’”
One of a kind
Kessel is a distinctive personality and player.
Only Alexander Ovechkin has taken more shots than Kessel has since he entered the NHL in 2006. Just six players — including Ovechkin and former Penguins teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin — have more goals. That’s not an accident.
“The shot that he had was just elite,” said Tocchet, who also coached him for two seasons in Arizona.
That, combined with his excellent passing, has long made Kessel a standout offensive player. His contributions on the other side of the ice are more suspect, but he’s incredible when put in a position to succeed as he was in Pittsburgh.
There also aren’t many hockey players who would challenge an assistant coach to a chin-up contest before a game. Or participate in six World Series of Poker events. Or spend part of their day with the Stanley Cup in 2017 poking fun at a Toronto Star column penned when they were traded from the Maple Leafs two years earlier.
But the combination of all those things is what makes Kessel himself. Tocchet said it makes him a beloved member of the locker room, from veterans to younger players. In Arizona, he was known as “The Godfather.”
“He’s got a unique way of making the room relax,” Tocchet said. “He’s a fun-loving guy.”
Missing piece
Kessel’s skill set fits what the Knights were looking for this offseason.
They needed secondary scoring with forwards Max Pacioretty, Evgenii Dadonov and Mattias Janmark leaving. The power play could use a boost after ranking 25th last season.
Kessel provides coach Bruce Cassidy with another top-nine forward he can move up and down the lineup. He should quickly become one of the Knights’ top weapons on the man advantage. His 14 power-play points last season would have been tied for second on his new team, even though he was playing for the 30th-ranked Coyotes.
“I do think he’ll have a lot of power-play utility for (Cassidy),” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “That’s an area where Phil has been successful in the past.”
Kessel’s ability to keep things light might be welcome for a franchise that has always set a high bar. The Knights missed the playoffs last season despite being preseason co-Stanley Cup favorites, and center Jack Eichel said the team played tight at times trying to make the postseason.
Next chapter
The one question is what Kessel has left to contribute.
He turns 35 on Oct. 2 and scored a career-low eight goals last season. His contract is far more modest than his previous eight-year, $64 million deal.
For his part, Kessel said he thinks last season was an anomaly. He scored 20 goals in 56 games the previous season. His assist total also remained strong, showing he hasn’t lost his passing touch.
Kessel hopes to show the rest of his game hasn’t slipped, either. He said he thought he got lost as Arizona tumbled in the standings and wants to show he can still contribute to a winning team.
“I have a lot to prove from the last couple years,” Kessel said. “I don’t think I’ve changed much as a player. I’m expecting to have a good year.”
That’s what stood out to the Knights when they looked to add a veteran forward. Kessel’s play and personality already were unique. But McCrimmon thinks his hunger will fit on a roster looking to return to the playoffs.
“Last year on a team that struggled and was out of the playoffs early, he still found a way to put up 52 points,” McCrimmon said. “I’m excited about Phil being that forward that we brought in.”
