How healthy scratch Phil Kessel is bringing joy to Vegas’s Stanley Cup run

LAS VEGAS – Phil Kessel likes to play cards, it’s no secret.

So, it should come as no surprise that — as a free agent chasing the ironman record and a third ring — Kessel bet on the Vegas Golden Knights last summer.

And it should come as no surprise that, even though he’s stuck skating with the black aces these days, Kessel is still a major player at the Knights’ card table that gets fired up on those long charters across the continent.

The usual suspects are Kessel, Brayden McNabb, Jonathan Marchessault, and Jack Eichel. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for the chirps in those games.

“It’s been great,” Eichel smiles. “It’s entertaining every flight. I don't have to worry about having to download TV or anything.”

The foursome’s card game of choice: 13.

Although Kessel’s all-time lineup luck has taken a turn, the 35-year-old enigma wrapped in a chuckle has remained upbeat around the boys.

He’s a natural positive influence on the club’s culture despite heading toward an 18th consecutive healthy scratch Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, where the Knights can win it all.

“Yeah, it’s huge. I mean, a big part of the team chemistry this year. He’s been great to hang out with,” Marchessault says.

“You need a lot of character on your team. But you need a lot of characters — and he's definitely one of them. And definitely I enjoy every second being with him for sure.

“The way he speaks, it’s remarkable.”

Kessel’s personality has long been a source of fascination in hockey circles. He can take a joke, make a joke. He can get all tight and crusty but, at the same time, break the ice and get the whole room laughing.

Captain Mark Stone finds the Kessel factor difficult to describe.

“I don't know. He brings a funny element of happiness and crankiness. By he just gels in really well with this group,” Stone says.

“He’s probably one of, if not the most, likable teammate I've ever played with. Brings a smile to your face when you come into the rink every day… You can count on him bringing good vibes to the dressing room, and he's been one of my favourite teammates I've ever played with.

“Plays every night, right? He's always there.”

Thing is, hockey’s unlikely ironman — 1,064 consecutive regular-season games played, dethroning the retired Keith Yandle’s 989 this season — no longer plays every night.

In fact, as Stone speaks from the Golden Knights’ Summerlin practice facility, he is sitting underneath a KESSEL nameplate, free to occupy his teammate’s stall because Kessel is still on the ice, putting in extra work with the scratches.

During practice, Kessel is a joyful participant in rebound and fun, low-lift net-front games with the regulars. His squeaky chirps fly over the glass. At one point he playfully pokes Stone with that trademark candy-cane-striped stick of his.

He’s making the best of a crummy hand.

So, in speaking to those around the team, you’re not surprised to learn that Kessel was less than pleased to learn he’d be coming out of the playoff lineup late in Round 1 once hard-checking winger William Carrier recovered from his lower-body injury.

Kessel’s production this season — 14 goals, 36 points — dipped to a 16-year low. He’ll be 36 when the puck drops on the 2023-24 season and is no longer a top-six threat.

Once Bruce Cassidy had a full complement of healthy forwards, the coach deemed Kessel an imperfect fit for a bottom six that he trusts to be diligent defensively and physical on the forecheck.

Kessel (992 career points) has made his $93 million in career earnings based on playmaking and power-play presence.

“To get back in the lineup, someone’s gonna have to falter that's in there now. We've played pretty well. He started in the lineup; we just went away from it,” Cassidy explains.

“Will Carrier is a different player than Phil. Something we thought was better for our fourth line in that situation. It was easier to put [Michael] Amadio in Phil’s spot than put someone down into how Carrier plays the game. That was the thinking, and we've used that line all year. So, there was nothing against Phil. It’s just the health of our team came around.”

Left unsaid: Had the Knights gotten healthy in the second half of the regular season, the no-nonsense Cassidy would have been faced with the uncomfortable decision of, perhaps, ending Kessel’s streak.

In Vegas, his ice time has fallen to a career low (12:49) and he’s a minus-7 skater on a great squad. Remember, Kessel lingered on the free agent market for six weeks after free agency’s opening in 2022 before Vegas signed him for one year and a modest $1.5 million.

The bet in August was that Kessel could improve the power play and fill in some veteran scoring from the flanks lost with the departures of cap-crunchy wingers Max Pacioretty and Evgenii Dadonov.

“I expect to have a big role here,” Kessel told reporters upon signing in Vegas. “There's a lot of great players there. I just want to fit in and obviously help as much as I can. I have a lot to prove from the last couple of years here. I don't think I've changed much as a player. I expect to have a good year and help this team try to win.”

Oh, the team is winning. But expectations have shifted.

Kessel has been uncomfortably forced into a cheerleader role but has opted to go all-in on it.

Eichel, in his first playoffs, has leaned on the room’s past champs like Kessel, Alex Pietrangelo and others for wisdom.

“We have guys that have won,” Eichel says. “To hear their side of their experience when they did win and what it was like and what it took, I think that experience is important.”

Same goes for a team-first attitude in the face of personal frustration.

“He’s been a terrific teammate for our guys. Guys love him. He’s got a sense of humour that’s very unique. And I think our guys needed a little bit of that looseness in our locker room. He played very well for us during the season,” Cassidy says.

“I don't want to speculate how he gets in. Hopefully there isn't injuries, but that's usually one way. And performance is the other. So far, we've stayed away from injuries and our performance was pretty good.”

So good that as early as Tuesday night on the Strip, amidst the very casinos the indestructible winger has honed his poker chops, we could very well hear these words:

Phil Kessel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion.

What were the odds?