PITTSBURGH — It’s different.
The sight of Phil Kessel in a Pittsburgh Penguins sweater. The thought of him as Sidney Crosby‘s new linemate. The notion that he’ll take the ice on Saturday night across from Tyler Bozak and the Toronto Maple Leafs, rather than alongside them.
“I have good friends over there and it’s going to be strange,” Kessel said after the morning skate at Consol Energy Center. “But I’m looking forward to it and just going to try and do my best.”
Kessel was the Leafs’ best player on the ice for six seasons, yet often found himself as a lightning-rod for the image he projected off of it.
From the moment he was dealt to the Penguins on July 1 — the lone castoff from a flawed core group at the end of a frustrating season — his first game against Toronto was bound to become an event. There is an added element of intrigue with it being so early in the schedule, too.
Kessel is just one year into an eight-year extension he signed with the Leafs and couldn’t have envisioned how quickly the breakup would come after putting pen to paper on that deal.
“Obviously, I enjoyed my time in Toronto,” he said. “I loved the city. It was time for a change, and you move on.”
He’s quickly made himself comfortable in his new home. Kessel isn’t the main attraction on a roster that includes Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and has generated a ton of scoring chances during the first four games of the season.
The Penguins have been surprised by his playmaking ability, but coach Mike Johnston is encouraging him to shoot as much as possible. Ideally, he’d like to see Kessel generate more than 300 shots for the third time in his NHL career — a number that would almost certainly assure him of another 30-plus goal season.
“He’s been really engaging with the coaching staff, he’s been good to work with,” said Johnston. “He’s just trying to learn how we’re playing and get used to his line.”
Kessel is the only member of a trio with Crosby and Chris Kunitz to even register a point so far this season. He has a goal and an assist.
The belief among the Penguins is that it’s only a matter of time before they break out, and given Crosby’s historical success against Toronto (21 goals and 49 points in 31 games) it could start Saturday.
“It’s been good,” said Kessel. “We’ve been getting a lot of chances but we’re just not getting anything to go in the net so far, right? It’s going to take time to improve and we’ll get it going here.”
There will no doubt be some different emotions for the 28-year-old when he takes the ice on Hockey Night in Canada. He remains close with a number of his former Leafs teammates — talking to a couple after their 6-3 win in Columbus on Friday night — and obviously wants to make a strong impression.
The last time Kessel faced Toronto was as a member of the Boston Bruins in December 2008, a game that saw him score twice and add an assist.
On Saturday morning he arrived to the rink and tried to treat it just like any other game day. But he won’t be able to do that once the puck is dropped for real.
“To be honest it doesn’t seem that much different, the way he is today, but I’m sure come game time [that will change],” said Crosby. “We all know the situation: We want to get a win for him.”
