Insider: Former Maple Leafs Star Forward ‘Calling Teams’ to Get a Contract

Getty Phil Kessel calling teams to try and get a contract.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Phil Kessel is looking to get an NHL contract, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman.

Kessel hasn’t played since the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he played for the Vegas Golden Knights that won the Cup. The veteran forward couldn’t get a contract last season as he did try out for the Vancouver Canucks.

With NHL teams set to open training camps, Freidman spoke on his ’32 Thoughts The Podcast’ and revealed Kessel is calling teams to try and get an NHL contract.

“He wants to play. Paul Bissonette had a tweet this week about how come Phil Kessel can’t get a job. I was looking at it, because I had heard and was going to check, that Kessel was calling teams and really wanted to play. That seems to confirm it, then I heard it from a couple of people,” Friedman said on the podcast.

“He’s legit about it. That three-on-three league that was supposed to start up but didn’t, I heard Kessel was one of those guys they were really talking to about playing there. He wants to play, he loves hockey and he wants to play. I don’t know if this is going to happen. But, it’s very, very legitimate that he has put it out there that he wants to play,” Freidman said.

Kessel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and could be a middle-six forward who can add some depth scoring to any team. But, as Friedman says, he’s uncertain if Kessel will get any offers from NHL teams.

Kessel has skated in 1286 games recording 413 goals and 579 assists for 992 points in his career.

Insider Links Kessel to Blue Jackets

After revealing that Kessel is trying to get another NHL contract, Friedman spoke on ’32 Thoughts The Podcast’ on September 16 and revealed the Columbus Blue Jackets did show interest in the veteran forward.

“Honestly, Kyle, I wondered if there was any chance that Phil Kessel may end up there (Blue Jackets). Just simply because, and I think this is a serious season for Columbus. They were disappointed last year,” Friedman said.

“They want to show some improvement, but I kind of wonder about a guy like Kessel simply because he’s got the reputation of being someone who really lightens the mood and just creates a lot of enjoyment when he’s around,” Friedman added.

However, Columbus ended up signing James van Riemsdyk to a one-year deal worth $900,000 deal. Whether or not that ruled out the Blue Jackets from signing Kessel is to be seen.

Maple Leafs GM Open to More Moves

Toronto will open its training camp on September 18 ahead of the 2024-25 NHL season.

Although the Maple Leafs have most of their roster set, Toronto general manager Brad Treliving did hint at the team making more moves.

“To me, we’ve still got five weeks or so till camp. And, you know, we’re not set yet. We continue to look at ways to make our team better,” Treliving said on “OverDrive” on TSN 1050. “I said at the end of the year we’re going to look at everything.

“Sometimes people fall in love with ‘ ‘let’s make a big change just to make a big change’. At the end of the day, you can go out and make big changes,” Treliving added. “If they’re not making your team better, to me it doesn’t make any sense to just make a change just to stand up and say ‘look at it, we made this big change.’”

Toronto will open its 2024-25 NHL season on the road on October 9 against the Montreal Canadiens.