Phil Kessel is the Toronto Maple Leafs' most interesting player. Great talent, unexpected flashes of brilliance. And a guy who plays, by all reports, for Phil Kessel.
Yeah, that'll work under new Leafs coach Mike Babcock.
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Phil Kessel (Getty Images)
"What we're going to be is men," Babcock said of his team on Thursday as he met the Toronto media after his hiring. "We're going to be straight up and honest. We're going to take responsibility in how hard we play. It doesn't mean it will guarantee you success every night. But we'll be responsible. You don't win without good people. We're going to have good people."
We're not saying Kessel isn't good people; he just hasn't shown a commitment to being Babcock's kind of people. Cheeseburgers are another matter.
So what's it going to be: Kessel committing to the Babcock way or Kessel hitting the highway with the Leafs getting little in return?
For a guy who gets paid $8 million a season (another reason the Leafs are cleaning house), Kessel is equal parts albatross and gate attraction. Here's how Damian Cox put it for The Toronto Star:
The combination of reduced production, a reputation for being in average physical condition at best and the stigma of being labelled a "coach killer" has probably reduced Kessel's trade value to an all-time low.
Here's what Fluto Shinzawa wrote for The Boston Globe:
He's not going to be comfortable playing for Babcock. The question is whether Babcock can make the relationship work.
Cox makes an interesting comparison: Kessel is a lesser version of Brett Hull. Kessel, according to Cox, "looks more like a lost sheep than a headstrong player determined to march to the beat of his own drum."
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Babcock never had a player like Kessel in Detroit, where there is incredible team ethos. Kessel's one season under a coach like Babcock came with the Bruins … after which he wanted out.
A 27-year-old winger with world-class scoring talent should be in demand across the NHL. Kessel should become the tip of Toronto's sword. He hasn't, either under Ron Wilson or Randy Carlyle.
Remember this: Hull, for all his talent, didn't win a Stanley Cup until he played for Ken Hitchcock on the Dallas Stars. He won again under Scotty Bowman with the Red Wings. Babcock is of similar ilk.
John Tortorella had this to say about Kessel in a chat with Toronto's TSN 1050:
“I loved coaching him. He was terrific for me. He has a different personality and I like that in players. I don’t think all players should be going through the wall for you all the time. I think he has his own thoughts. I think he has a different personality. I think you need those different types of personalities – different ones – on your team to make it the best team you could possibly have.
“So I had no problem with Phil. When I had that team, I heard that he was a real quiet guy and a lot of different things about him. He was terrific. And he’s a hell of a player.”
Players either get it or they don't. Kessel will either get with the program or he won't.
For his part, retired goalie J.S. Giguere believes Kessel can play for Babcock. Then again, Giguere sees the possibility Dion Phaneuf can turn his game around under his new Leafs master.
"Randy [Carlyle] is definitely more of an in-your-face type of coach, you know, yelling at you and stuff like that. Even though he's a good coach that wears very thin on the players very fast," Giguere said Friday, according to Canada's Sportsnet. "I think Babs uses lots of psychology. He tries to get in your head, but he has a different way for every player.
"I think maybe he'll find a way to get Phil Kessel going in a different way that he'll find to get Dion [Phaneuf] going and maybe [Jonathan] Bernier going. He's very smart that way, very ahead of the times and it should be pretty refreshing for the players … I remember when I had him as a coach, we all respected him."
It would be interesting to watch … if Kessel and Phaneuf get to play under Babcock. The highway isn't that far away.