Phil Kessel will be working out this week in Abbotsford, British Columbia, home of the Vancouver Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate, general manager Patrik Allvin said Tuesday.
“Yeah, Jim (Rutherford, Vancouver president of hockey operations) the last couple of weeks was talking to his agent,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said after his team’s 4-2 win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
“He’s going to go down there and skate for two or three days. We’ll see how he is down there and reevaluate from there.”
The 36-year-old free agent forward, who is in Vancouver, has not played in the NHL this season. He had 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 82 regular-season games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season. However, after playing in their first four Stanley Cup Playoff games, Kessel was a healthy scratch for the rest of the postseason, including the Stanley Cup Final, when Vegas defeated the Florida Panthers in five games.
Selected by the Boston Bruins with the No. 5 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Kessel has 992 points (413 goals, 579 assists) in 1,286 games with the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes and Golden Knights. He has 83 points (34 goals, 49 assists) in 100 postseason games, winning the Stanley Cup three times.
Kessel also owns the NHL record for most consecutive games played, which is active at 1,064.
“I played with Phil for a while,” said Canucks forward Conor Garland, who played with Kessel on the Coyotes from 2019-21. “[He’s] one of my close friends, so I’m just excited. I’ll probably go see him tomorrow in Abbotsford.
“It’s more of just, I’m glad to see someone who is so good hopefully get another chance. He deserves a shot in this league, and he’s a three-time (Stanley) Cup winner and a Hall of Famer, and I think he deserves to play. We’ll see what happens, but I’m just happy for him.”
Vancouver (36-12-6) leads the NHL in points (78) and points percentage (.722) in its first full season under Tocchet, who was hired Jan. 22, 2023, to replace Bruce Boudreau.
Tocchet is very familiar with Kessel, having worked with him while he was an assistant with the Penguins during their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. During those two seasons, Kessel combined for 129 points (49 goals, 80 assists) in 164 regular-season games and 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) in 49 playoff games.
Following that second championship, Tocchet was hired as coach of the Coyotes, and two seasons later, Arizona acquired Kessel as part of a trade with the Penguins for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Olivier Joseph on June 29, 2019.
Kessel played the next three seasons with the Coyotes, including the first two under Tocchet, who agreed to part ways with them May 9, 2021. Kessel signed a one-year contract with the Golden Knights ahead of last season.
“I haven’t talked to him at all,” Tocchet said. “But I know Phil, especially from the Pittsburgh days.”
Asked what he thought Kessel could add, Tocchet said: “I don’t know, I haven’t seen him skate. I have to see how he’s skating down there, to be honest with you.”
Canucks forward Dakota Joshua said it was “great news” to hear Kessel would be skating in Abbotsford.
“Just another veteran presence, someone who’s won before, and it’s nice to have those guys in the room,” he said. “That’d be a big help.”
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report
