Phil Kessel appreciated a warm welcome back from the Penguins
Phil Kessel made his initial return in front of thousands of fans dressed in black and yellow.
They cried his name and got excited when he took the ice.
But things were very different almost exactly one decade earlier.
When Kessel played in Boston on Dec. 5, 2009, Bruins fans taunted him with sing-song “Keeeeesss-eeeeelllll …. Keeeeesss-eeeeelllll…..” chants and booed him relentlessly during his first game in TD Garden after an impasse in contract talks led to him being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Ten years and a day later, his reception at PPG Paints Arena was just as passionate but certainly far more convivial.
After the first television stoppage during the first period, a carefully crafted presentation was displayed on the video board which showed several of Kessel’s highlights during his successful four-year stretch with the Penguins. It even displayed some of his endearing imperfections which fans seemingly embraced more than this proclivity for scoring spectacular goals.
Kessel tried to stifle a smile, but, much like his team’s 2-0 setback at PPG Paints Arena, he came up short in that battle.
“It’s different obviously,” said Kessel, who was also booed in his first game at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Oct. 31, 2015. “This place is very special to me. We had a couple of great years. I have a lot of good memories. I have nothing but good things to say.”
Several of his teammates tried to keep Kessel on the ice as he attempted to retreat to the relative seclusion of the bench.
“Everyone wanted him to stay out and enjoy the moment,” said Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, a member of three of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup teams either as a player or an assistant coach.
“Yeah, yeah,” Kessel said. “You know me. I’m not the biggest for that. It was nice of them to do that. I appreciated it.”
Despite being shut out, Kessel had a pretty noticeable effort in his return. Logging 21:43 of ice time on 22 shifts, he had three shots on six attempts.
Perhaps his best opportunity came at 16:30 of the first period. After Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz turned the puck over in his own zone, Kessel had a chance from the slot. With goaltender Tristan Jarry leaning a bit to the left, Kessel ripped a sizzling wrister to the opposite direction but missed just wide of the cage. The Coyotes were able to generate a handful of subsequent chances off the rebound but couldn’t beat Jarry.
(Video courtesy of NHL)
“I had some chances tonight,” Kessel said. “I had a lot actually. It didn’t work out. I’ll just keep battling. I like our game. I like how we played tonight. If we keep playing like that, we’ll win a lot of games.”
“It’s tough,” said Schultz, who defended Kessel outside of the realm of a practice for the first time since 2015. “Obviously, his shot is one of the best in the league and he can let it go in a split second. So, you always have to be aware of him.”
Based on the amount of Kessel jerseys, signs and cheers in PPG Paints Arena on Friday, quite a few people appear to remain aware of what he meant to this franchise.
“Obviously, it’s strange,” Kessel said. “I had some good years here and some good memories. The fans gave me a warm welcome. I love the city, I love them. They treated me great here. It was nice.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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