I wish all of the Leafs were as fat as Phil

Phil Kessel leads the entire NHL in 5 on 5 scoring, is a perennial 30 goal scorer, is on pace this season to eclipse 100 points and hasn't missed a game in over 3 seasons. In other words, Phil Kessel is incredibly good at his job, yet the Toronto media continues to paint a negative picture around arguably one of the best, most consistent players in the NHL.

  Phil Kessel has been with the Toronto Maple Leafs for six glorious seasons now , in each season he has seen an increase in point production and over all effectiveness in his game, not to mention he elevates the play of those around him (Mainly, Tyler Bozak) along with the point production Kessel possesses one of the most unique, deadly wrist shots in the NHL. So, all of this sounds great and as a fan base we love Phil Kessel for all of the fantastic things he does right? Wrong.

  Throughout his time with the Leafs Phil Kessel has had to put up with an unfair amount of BS from the Toronto media. Granted , being the hockey Mecca that Toronto is, any player coming to play got the blue and white should expect to be more heavily scrutinized than smaller NHL markets. Now, some players will eventually flee the spotlight for more money and ridiculous contracts in Florida (See Dave Bolland) however, through all the garbage the media has put Phil through, he decided to sign an 8 year contract extension to remain a Leaf until the 2021-22 season.

  Most recently Phil has taken heat for his post game remarks (or lack there of) following the teams dismal performance against the Buffalo Sabres. The media approached him for comments on the game and he simply replied "Get away from me" , this has caused commotion all week within the sports media circle, and given the media yet another chance to dump on Kessel. God forbid a player doesn't want to talk to you after a 6-2 loss to one of the worst teams in the league, the media is quick to jump on the winger for his lack of leadership, to me his response to the media said more about his passion and feelings about the game than any 30 second post game scrum with quotes on compete level and winning one on one battles would have.

  Perhaps due to the lack of success Toronto has had over the years we just feel we don't deserve to have an elite player on the team, or are sadly uncomfortable accepting it. When it comes to Kessel you can either listen to the media, who love to throw hissy fits every time he neglects to give an interview,mother they get to continue to tell you how he lacks leadership, doesn't care enough about his job to skate in the summer and is overweight and out of shape, or, you can sit back, enjoy the fact that the Leafs have one of the top players in the league, and continue to enjoy watching him improve each season and wire that disgusting wrist shot into the opposing teams net.

By the numbers;

Phil Kessel RW, Toronto Maple Leafs 382 GP, 167G, 188A, 355Pts