Phil Kessel is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, and that is how he will forever be remembered in Pittsburgh.
The now desert-based winger for the Coyotes made his return to Pittsburgh for the first time since departing and was given the expected treatment of a full video-board tribute like we've seen for each of his former Cup-winning compadres.
Here's what the Penguins put up for The Thrill:
Thanks for the Cups, the laughs, and the thrills.
All the best to you, two-time Stanley Cup Champion @PKessel81. pic.twitter.com/PozrJmvu8i
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 7, 2019
Nice guy. Tries hard. Loves the game. Those are his words, and they ring true when you watch him play. A favorite of mine during his time in Pittsburgh, I always looked forward to photographing Kessel's smile at the face-off circle. Whether chirping or trying to stay on his feet after a long shift was made longer with an icing, the guy just laughs when he plays.
That's the photograph I chose up top for this piece, Phil laughing at the face-off circle, leaning on his unpictured stick while undoubtedly bending its junior flex stiffness while used as a crutch. My favorite of the guy's return is this one, however:
I went this route with Kessel trying to just do something different for his return. We've had a bunch of these now. Marc-Andre Fleury is the standout. The guy did start the Penguins' three-Cup rebuild. In other sports we've had Andrew McCutchen. They start to look the same. So I went overhead and thought I'd look for Kessel under the spotlight during warmups.
Instead, I got ... a Philouette, and I don't really feel bad about making that joke.
We caught up with Kessel after the game, speaking for the first time — the Coyotes didn't hold a morning skate after playing Thursday night — and it seemed like a good idea to post the full thing here with a lot of praise from his mouth for the fans, the city and the experience of returning to Pittsburgh.
At 2:43 of run time, and missing just a couple of words from him to kick it off, Kessel was significantly more long-winded than usual:
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Coyotes, PPG Paints Arena, Dec. 6, 2019 -- Matt Sunday / DKPS