LongtimeLeafsufferer
Joined: Jul. 2015
Posts: 60,282
Likes: 23,121
Sorry Marco no. Kessel might be the same guy (most people including myself like Phil). But he certainly isn't the same player now as he was in Toronto. He never engaged defensively, was on every power play so let's no overwhelmed by the stats. And this media microscope....false. Brian, The Brain, Burke started bringing up this subject when the team was constantly near the bottom. He blamed the media and allowed others on the team to use "the microscope" as a crutch. The media in Toronto is very soft and its players and are rarely criticized. Where Phil really felt pressure, was especially in the last half season as a Leaf and it was through public forums. He was brutal as an NHL hockey player. Well if you're a pro athlete, and people pay to see you play/work or at least spend their time watching you, your play will be judged. But please it wasn't the media. If anything blame the hockey fans who realized Kessel was contributing little to the team. Good for Phil that he got a fresh start and is playing well.
But anyone who think the media (newspaper, TV and radio commentators are harsh to it's hometown players have just been swept up by the public forums or believe what Brian Burke says about hockey life in Toronto.