Over the last few weeks, many players have received invites to training camps via player tryout (PTO), allowing them to earn a contract and permanent roster spot on said team. Paul Bissonnette voiced his outrage on X (formerly Twitter) over Phil Kessel not being offered a PTO as we head into training camp season. This leaves the question: Should the Pittsburgh Penguins offer Kessel a PTO to join them at training camp starting Sept. 18? While it would be nostalgic for fans to see him in a Penguins sweater and give him the opportunity to retire as a Penguin, it is not entirely plausible for them to do so.
Getting Older and Slowing Down
On Oct. 10, Kessel will be turning 37. While, yes, the Penguins have a history of acquiring and signing older players, they have started to get away from that under Kyle Dubas. He has done a solid job getting the team younger this summer than other GMs have in the past. He went out and acquired Cody Glass from the Nashville Predators, and surprised many when he acquired Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets, making him the organization’s top prospect. Adding Kessel would ultimately undo what he has done this summer to get the team younger and prepare for the future.
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With age comes, in some cases, a lack of speed and point production. Both are true for the 17-season veteran. He has not been known for his speed in the NHL, but his point production made up for that. His tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Penguins brought the scoring touch out of him tremendously. In six seasons with the Maple Leafs, he notched 181 goals and 213 assists through 446 games in the blue and white. He notched 110 goals and 193 assists through 328 games with the Penguins. Since those days, he has only gotten worse in the point-production side of things. His best season since leaving Pittsburgh came in the 2021-22 season with the Arizona Coyotes when he tallied 52 points. With the combination of an aging player and having not played in a game in over a year, it is less likely he will be able to produce enough to make up for his lack of speed. He has also not been a defensively-reliable player, which makes it all the more difficult to justify signing him for training camp.
Penguins Roster Is Just About Full
As mentioned in previous articles, the Penguins’ roster is all but set at this point. While there may be some good reasons to add Kessel on a PTO, and possibly a contract to retire a Penguin, it is near impossible to see where he could fit into the lineup. The organization has some solid talent in their system, some looking to even crack the lineup this season. With the way Dubas has started building the team, those younger players are more likely to get spots over the likes of Kessel, even with him being a veteran.
The youngsters are hungry to prove they have what it takes to be in the NHL, which pushes them to another level, making it more difficult for Kessel. Even guys that are older like Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Noel Acciari, though not nearly as old as Kessel, still have more to their game, and can contribute in different ways that are effective. Acciari, for example, does not put up high point production, but he is a physical player for a fourth line role. If the Penguins did want to try Kessel on the second line, it would be difficult to justify replacing Rakell on that line after he had a solid outing last season.
No NHL Game Time Since the 2022-23 Season
The biggest reason the organization should not bring Kessel in is that he has not seen game action in the NHL since April 24, 2023 when he was with the Vegas Golden Knights. Getting back to NHL-level game shape is possible for youngsters or older players that are still at an elite level, but not for someone with Kessel’s current caliber of play. He was given a PTO by the Vancouver Canucks last season, but it was to participate in practices with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He joined the organization on Feb. 12, 2024, but after both parties could not come to an agreement and Vancouver could not find a way to fit him into its lineup, he remained unsigned.
There may be reasons fans and the organization would want to see Kessel back in the Steel City, but the negatives heavily outweigh the positives. The Penguins need to continue to focus on building for the future, and keep doing the right things like they did with acquiring Glass and McGroarty. While it may not be the Pens that sign the almost 37-year-old, there may be some teams out there that could use whatever services he can bring to the team.
