Phil Kessel has been one of the most durable players in the NHL over the course of his career. He has played in 730 out of the possible 786 available games since he entered the league . He hasn't missed a game in close to seven seasons. He has played in 528 consecutive games that strings back to his start with the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, that streak might be in jeopardy.
Rutherford said Kessel is "tracking" toward being ready but isn't confident saying it's 100 percent because of hand surgery.
It wasn't exactly common knowledge that Kessel was dealing with a hand injury during the playoffs. Honestly, who could tell considering he was one of the favorites for the Conn Smythe. Shortly after the celebrations died down it was announced that Kessel had hand surgery to fix the secret issue. The original prognosis had him ready for the start of the season. That may still be the case, but it appears that things are a little less sure now.
Without Kessel in the lineup the way Mike Sullivan deploys his lines would be drastically altered. Obviously HBK wouldn't be a thing anymore and the whole "next man up" philosophy would be insufficient. Bryan Rust is potentially in a top six slot as it stands right now and I already have reservations about that.
This situation was part of my reasoning for Jiri Hudler's acquisition at 2M. It could have been insurance for something like a Kessel injury. With Daniel Sprong out half of the season the team will have to rely on Eric Fehr and his 0.88 points per 60 if Kessel and/or Hornqvist miss time.
The good news is that this was taken care of in the offseason. Kessel should be back to play the lion's share of the season. If he does miss a little bit of time it does however shed some light on how thin the Penguins are at that position.
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Did Jaromir Jagr mislead some NHL teams before coming to the NHL?
Craig Patrick admits that Jagr told the top four teams drafting in 90 he wouldn't come to NHL. Told Pens he wanted to play with Mario.
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