Ex-Leaf Phil Kessel Won His Third Stanley Cup & Took A Big Shot At His Old Toronto Team
Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel became a three-time Stanley Cup champion on Tuesday night, and he used the occasion to throw shade at the Toronto Maple Leafs for doubting him years ago.
"Takes me back to my Toronto days," Kessel told a reporter for The Hockey News on the ice Tuesday night after his Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers in Game 5 to win the Stanley Cup in Vegas.
"You guys said I couldn't win," he told The Hockey News, which is based in Toronto, "and now I’m a three-time champ. Remember that."
\u201cPhil Kessel: \u201cTakes me back to my Toronto days. You guys said I couldn\u2019t win, and now I\u2019m a three-time champ. Remember that.\u201d\n\n@TheHockeyNews\u201d— Mike Stephens (@Mike Stephens) 1686714485
Kessel, 35, was the Toronto Maple Leafs' best player from 2009 until 2015, when he was traded away to Pittsburgh. It was a bitter split between the two sides and there were even media reports accusing Kessel of eating too many hot dogs, which — let's be honest — is both sh*tty and kind of hilarious.
Kessel was shipped off to the Penguins where he went on to win two Stanley Cups over four seasons before landing with the lowly Arizona Coyotes.
However, Kessel's run wasn't done. The American winger joined the Vegas Golden Knights for this season, and while he's no longer the star he used to be, he still played every regular-season game this year. Kessel currently holds the NHL record for the most consecutive regular-season games played without missing a night, although he did not play in last night's cup-winning Game 5.
Still, a Stanley Cup win is a Stanley Cup win.
\u201cTHREE TIME Stanley Cup Champion Phil Kessel \ud83c\udfc6\ud83c\udfc6\ud83c\udfc6\n\n(\ud83c\udfa5: @NHL_On_TNT)\u201d— BarDown (@BarDown) 1686713001
Kessel was drafted by the Boston Bruins and spent three seasons with that team before they traded him to Toronto, so he could've easily ripped into Boston instead after Tuesday's victory. The fact that he didn't — and that he chose to blast Toronto — is certainly a choice.
It also wasn't the first time that Kessel has used the Stanley Cup to mock his old team.
After winning his second Cup with the Penguins in 2017, Kessel took the trophy golfing and then stuffed the bowl with a familiar meal: hot dogs.
"Hot dogs taste better out of The Cup!" he wrote on Instagram.
Kessel isn't the only ex-Leaf to take a shot at Toronto after winning a Cup.
Former Leaf Nazem Kari also shaded Toronto when he won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche last year, three seasons after playoff suspensions led to him being traded away.
"For everyone who thought I was a liability in the playoffs, you can kiss my ass," Kadri said in a live TV interview at the time.
\u201c\u201cFor everyone that thought I was a liability in the playoffs you can kiss my ass.\u201d\n\nNazem Kadri says it all after hoisting the #StanleyCup \ud83d\ude02\u201d— Tim and Friends (@Tim and Friends) 1656299593
Kadri's departure from the Leafs was also bitter, as he grew up in nearby London, Ontario, and was drafted by Toronto.
Kadri brought the Stanley Cup back to London last summer after his victory — but don't expect Kessel to do the same this year. The Wisconsin native is much more likely to take the trophy to the golf course, as he's done in the past.
As for his celebration plans on Tuesday night, Kessel was honest about it during another post-game interview.
\u201cPhil Kessel is just trying not to puke out here \ud83e\udd23\u201d— B/R Open Ice (@B/R Open Ice) 1686718852
"Obviously it's going to be a fun night," he said, "and (I'll) try not to throw up."
