Kessel has reportedly been staying in game shape in Arizona while he awaits contract offers from NHL clubs. While he has reportedly gotten close to reaching an agreement a couple of times, nothing has materialized yet. As a result, the 36-year-old is reportedly looking into the possibility of playing in Switzerland as a way of getting back up to game speed.
Likely destinations would be Bern and Lugano, both of which are notable for acquiring NHL talent.
Kessel is technically still the active NHL ironman leader with 1064 consecutive games played in the league. However, he has expressed a willingness to end the streak in order to facilitate a new NHL deal.
At this point it remains unclear whether or not Kessel will ever return to the NHL. He is just 8 points shy of hitting 1000 for his career.
POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 16 | 167 ANSWERS MAJOR: Phil Kessel Eyeing Contract Outside the NHL Will Kessel ever play in the NHL again? | ||
Yes, this season | 71 | 42.5 % |
Yes, next season | 30 | 18 % |
No | 66 | 39.5 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
Jake Debrusk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Connor McDavid | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Jack Eichel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Brock Nelson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Clayton Keller | - | 3 | 3 | |
Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
Roman Josi | 2 | - | 2 | |
Kirill Marchenko | 2 | - | 2 | |
Kyle Palmieri | 2 | - | 2 | |
Artemi Panarin | 2 | - | 2 | |
Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Evan Bouchard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
Conference | Cumulative |