Phil Kessel has lost the peer vote, again.
In the latest player poll conducted by Sports Illustrated (Feb. 20 issue), the Toronto Maple Leafs sniper was voted the all-star-calibre player easiest to intimidate. According to SI’s survey of 145 NHL players, Kessel earned 15 per cent of the votes, nearly double that of the Vancouver Canucks’ Sedin twins.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin received votes both individually and as a pair; all told, the brothers raked in eight per cent of the ballots. Individually, Henrik received three per cent of the votes and would have finished tied for sixth. Alone, Daniel would have tied for 17th with one per cent of the individual vote.
Struggling Washington Capitals forward Alexander Semin finished third in the survey with seven per cent, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and New Jersey Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk (three per cent apiece).
SI notes that no defencemen received more than a single vote in the poll. Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo and Phoenix’s Mike Smith were the only goaltenders to earn votes.
Kessel received much ribbing from his peers just over a year ago, when he was selected last in the player draft for the 2011 All-Star Game. He was, however, awarded a Honda CR-V for that dubious distinction.
The 24-year-old Kessel is on pace for the best offensive season of his career, having scored 30 goals and adding 30 assists in 56 games played this season. He has taken 14 minutes in penalties.
In January, another Maple Leaf “won” another negative Sports Illustrated NHL player poll. Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was voted the league’s most overrated player, based on 161 players surveyed.
“What player votes in a poll like this?” Leafs GM Brian Burke told PTS on Sportsnet 590 The Fan after the overrated-player poll was revealed. “Throw it in the trash. Why would you vote in a poll like this?”
Of the top five vote-getters, which NHL player do you think is the easiest to intimidate?
$(“#poll_9118”).v2Poll({poll_id: 9118});
