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There’s a reason everyone lights up when they talk about Phil Kessel. When he’s in the room, guys rip on him and he rips on them, which I think is important in a good teammate. He wasn’t closed off like he can be in interviews.
Unique. One of a kind. Great guy and a good friend.
My favorite story is probably the one with Pierre McGuire and the breath.
[Editor’s note: In 2016 during the Eastern Conference finals, NBC Sports announcer Pierre McGuire had a postgame interview in which he asked Kessel “how’s your breath?” McGuire meant to inquire about Kessel’s conditioning after the forward played over 19 minutes against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead, Kessel thought it was a question about his hygiene and responded “it’s not good, eh?”]Phil came back into the room after that. He looked at us and just shook his head. He said, “Boys … you’re gonna get a kick out of this when it comes out.” Like, he knew what was going to happen. So the next day, he had a bunch of Tic Tacs and gum piled high in his stall.
The line with him, me and [Hagelin] … that was fun. The opportunity came about because Geno [Malkin] got hurt. It was one of those times in my career where it felt like everything we did was right and everything we shot went in, from Game 60 all the way through when we lifted the Cup.
Haggy was so fast and so smart and knew exactly where he needed to be. I just tried to get pucks to them and be responsible. I was so fortunate to play with Phil. He can shoot the puck like few can in this league. He’s just got such a flex on his stick that he can snap it off, and he can do it in motion, too. I hadn’t seen anyone come down the wing and shoot it in stride like he does. He’s fast. When he gets a step on you, that’s all he needs. And then he’s shooting before the goalie is set.
The popularity of our line was a whirlwind. Something I hadn’t experienced before. I imagine that’s what it’s like for Sid everywhere he goes, or these top guys. When you’re producing and doing well, the fanfare comes with it. Especially in a city like Pittsburgh, which is so sports-crazed.
I played cards with him. I wouldn’t play poker because he was so good at it. But we’d play a bunch of games on the plane. One thing I’ll never forget: playing cards with Phil out of the Stanley Cup on the way back from San Jose. We set it up in the middle of the aisle between us. That was our card table. We were throwing our cards inside the Stanley Cup.
It’s funny: I played with Andrew Cogliano, too, who had such a long consecutive games streak himself. I think every guy is different, but they both have a durability to them. Regardless of what was going on with Phil, you knew he was going to play. He wasn’t taking a maintenance day. He was playing. OK, maybe not so much in practice, but you know that in the games, he was going to be there.
He’s a gamer. He wanted to win, whatever he did. Whether it was cards or shooting hoops or playing hockey. You gotta have that drive if you want to play that many games in a row.
Kessel in Arizona: The veteran mentor
Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller was Kessel’s teammate during Phil’s three seasons with the Coyotes from 2019-20 to 2021-22 — including a game on March 8, 2022, when Kessel played one 30-second shift against the Detroit Red Wings to keep his streak alive before hopping on a charter flight arranged by the team for the birth of his daughter, Kapri Mary Kessel.
Phil was an unbelievable teammate, on and off the ice. Someone that I loved playing with. Probably one of the best guys that I’ve ever played with. I definitely miss him.
When I first met him, he was just a normal guy. Loved to play golf, so one of the first days that we were together, we went out and played. That’s when you can really get to know someone, on the golf course. And he was super-fun to golf with. It’s nice because it’s away from hockey and you’re just talking about life and things of that nature.
He also loves to chirp, and he can back it up. He’ll tell you he’s a bad golfer. But he’s very good. Really good putter. Good short game in general. His drives are good too, but if I was going to say one thing [is his best], I’d say putting. He’s got soft hands.
He’s a competitive guy, no matter if it’s hockey or golf or cards on the plane, he wants to win. And if he does, he’ll let everyone know about it.
It was awesome to have him on the Coyotes. He’s a guy that’s played in big games and played in Stanley Cup Finals and won Stanley Cups. So he knows what it’s like. It was nice to pick his brain on some of the teams he’s been on, why they won and things of that nature.
We all knew the situation [with his daughter’s birth]. It was pretty crazy and awesome for the team to do that. Everyone kind of had an idea, but no one knew exactly what was going to happen. You didn’t know when the baby was going to arrive. So he played one shift, got on a plane and he was back with us the next game. We all got him something for the kid.
Like with his streak, he wants to be a part of every game. He’s definitely had injuries throughout his career that he’s played through to get to that level. I hope he gets all the way there and holds that record for a long time.
It’s a long season. There are tough days. But every time you come to the rink and see Phil, he puts a smile on your face. Every day was something new. I miss the laughs and the jokes. I miss playing with him. He cheers you up.
Kessel in Vegas: How hockey is (and isn’t) like poker
Daniel Negreanu is a professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker bracelets. He has played cards with Phil Kessel and now watches him as a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The first time I met Phil was in Toronto at a mutual friend’s house. A couple of guys on the Leafs loved playing poker, and I met him at a game inside that friend’s house. Phil wanted to “test his skills.” Me being a big hockey fan, I thought that was cool.
I knew about him before that night. Toronto media is very in your business. They go above and beyond trying to get the inside scoop, and sometimes they completely make s— up — like the hot dog thing, which wasn’t even real. But I never experienced him as a person until then. And as I got to know him over the years, he’s probably my most famous friend.
He’s an easy-going guy. When you see him on camera doing interviews, he’s kind of uncomfortable. He doesn’t like it. That’s why during the World Series of Poker, whenever he was there, I would bring my vlog camera out and put him on it and drive him crazy. He’d try to hide.
Once you get to know him, it makes sense that he’s kind of streaky as a player. Mindset for him is incredibly important. When things are going badly, he sort of has a woe-is-me attitude. “Aw, man, puck isn’t going in, eh? Puck’s just not droppin’, eh?” But in hockey, just like in poker, he’s a competitor. He might not look like it, but he’s a competitor.
He was at the World Series of Poker with me when Toronto traded him. I asked him where he was headed, and he said “Pittsburgh.” I told him that you could think of worse places than playing with Crosby and Malkin. He said, “Yeah, not too bad, eh?”
I’m really hoping this works out for him in Vegas. It’s a good opportunity. But he wanted people to know that he didn’t come to Vegas to play poker. He’s here to play hockey and to take it very seriously.
He was in a horrible situation in Arizona. At the trade deadline, he and everybody in the world thought he was going somewhere, but they didn’t have anywhere to move him. Vegas was always in his sights, but they were up against the cap. But they needed a guy for the power play, and who else is a better fit than Phil Kessel, one of the best power-play guys in the NHL? So I was super-excited when he signed with the Knights. It was time to get another jersey with “Phil The Thrill” on the back.
When I first met him, I would have been surprised by him setting this record. But not as surprised as the average NHL fan.
When you play in Toronto, the media creates the narrative for you. So what’s the narrative on Phil Kessel? He’s fat. He likes to eat hot dogs. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t try. He doesn’t play defense. And he doesn’t even like hot dogs. The defense thing … maybe in the regular season, he’s not hitting. He’s maybe coasting in a 4-1 game.
But watch him in the playoffs. Watch him in those Pittsburgh runs and tell me who was backchecking and playing really hard. And if you ask guys around him, when he’s in the gym and under a squat rack, he’s strong as f—. He’s got a very strong lower body.
In poker, he likes to play a game called Pot Limit Omaha. That’s his favorite. And that game has a lot of luck involved, so you can go on these really big swings were you can win or lose a lot in one session.
With poker, you have to be a little even-keeled. But he’s very emotionally attached to swings. He’d say things like, “Bro, I had aces seven times in a row and the guy cracked, eh?” And I’m like, “We should focus on your game. Focus on the things you can control.” He gets caught up in that stuff occasionally.
One year, he was sitting down in a tournament for Pot Limit Omaha at the World Series of Poker. I happened to roll up and I was seated at his table, playing for a world championship. I know how he plays. He’s not a big bluffer. He’s not going to outplay me or anything like that … except on this one hand, when he went absolutely nuts on me and I didn’t see it coming. He completely outplayed me and bluffed me, and everyone started laughing.
I was like, “What the hell, Phil? Where did you get that from?”
It was a high-level play. I didn’t think he was capable of it. The joke was on me.
