Phil Kessel Breaks the Silence on His Return to the NHL
Phil Kessel has just opened up on his potential return to the NHL, and why he wants to continue playing so badly.
Kessel Reveals He is Staying Ready in Recent Interview
Phil Kessel is still waiting to find a home for this season and is rumoured to be close to a deal with several teams. However, despite that, he remains unsigned into November, a bad signal that the interest could be dying down. Kessel recently opened up about the process in an interview with the Athletic.
I'm staying ready.
I've been skating. In the next week, I'm going to work with a skating guy here. 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?
I know I can still play and can still help. 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.
I'm willing to kind of go wherever
Because I want to play. I love to play. I feel like I can help any team. I think my resume kind of speaks to that, right?»
Kessel is right, there are a lot of teams who could use his Stanley Cup pedigree and scoring talents to bolster their roster. Unfortunately, though, teams are tight for cap space, so adding him becomes difficult.
Kessel Just 8 Points Shy of Major Milestone
Kessel already holds a huge NHL record for the longest Iron Man streak among active players. He is only 8 points shy of scoring 1,000 points in his career, a marker that is surely driving his desire to return.
1000 points
99. Kessel: 992 pts.
100. Kariya : 989 pts
101. Middleton : 988 pts.
102. Keon : 986 pts.
103. Tavares : 986 pts.
Time will tell if and where Phil Kessel gets to play this season.
As seen on The Athletic
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 2 | 107 ANSWERS Phil Kessel Breaks the Silence on His Return to the NHL Do you think Kessel will play somewhere this year? | ||
| Yes | 81 | 75.7 % |
| No | 26 | 24.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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YESTERDAY
MAY 29, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jackson Blake | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexander Nikishin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||