"You know what, it happens all the time, right?" Kessel told TSN. "I've been traded before, and if I get traded again, it is what it is. It's a business, and if I'm somewhere else, I'll play hard for them.
"Hockey's a strange game. You never know why you get traded or what they're thinking. It could be from years down the road or whatever. Like I said, it's a business, and if you look at it like that, it's all right."
In response to a column that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford on Thursday told a Pittsburgh radio station that he doesn't expect to trade Kessel, who has a limited no-trade clause and has helped the Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. The 29-year-old had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season and 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in the 2015-16 postseason.