Kessel to work out at home of Canucks’ AHL affiliate

Phil Kessel will be working out this week in Abbotsford, British Columbia, home of the Vancouver Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate, general manager Patrik Allvin said Tuesday.

The 36-year-old forward, who is in Vancouver, had 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 82 regular-season games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season. However, after playing in their first four Stanley Cup Playoff games, Kessel was a healthy scratch for the rest of the postseason, including the Stanley Cup Final, when Vegas defeated the Florida Panthers in five games.

Selected by the Boston Bruins with the No. 5 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Kessel has 992 points (413 goals, 579 assists) in 1,286 games with the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes and Golden Knights. He has 83 points (34 goals, 49 assists) in 100 postseason games, including winning the Stanley Cup three times.

Kessel also owns the NHL’s ironman record for most consecutive games played (1,064).

Vancouver (35-12-6) leads the NHL in points (76) and points percentage (.717) in its first full season under coach Rick Tocchet, who was hired Jan. 22, 2023, to replace Bruce Boudreau.

Tocchet is very familiar with Kessel, having worked with him while he was an assistant with the Penguins during their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. During those two seasons, Kessel combined for 129 points (49 goals, 80 assists) in 164 regular-season games, and 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) in 49 playoff games.

Following that second championship, Tocchet was hired as coach of the Coyotes, and two seasons later, Arizona acquired Kessel as part of a trade with the Penguins for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Olivier Joseph on June 29, 2019.  

Kessel played the next three seasons with the Coyotes, including the first two under Tocchet, who agreed to part ways with them on May 9, 2021. Kessel signed a one-year contract with the Golden Knights ahead of last season.