Phil Kessel

[dappleganger]

I think Kessel should feel honoured that the reporters missed him that much.

It's kinda like when Bieber goes out the back exit to avoid the throng a screaming 12 year-old girls waiting outside the front entrance of the hotel. Those little girls are heartbroken they missed out on seeing the Biebs.

The people complaining are acting like 12 year-old girls.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I don't disagree about the value of these interviews in general but that's not the point. The point is that the team has a policy on dealing with the media and that Phil Kessel doesn't get to unilaterally get to decide what team rules he wants to follow and which ones he doesn't.

I think the larger issue is that's it's not just any team policy, there's stipulation about player availability in the CBA that is expected to be followed.

Personally, I just wish they'd leave him alone.  He really has nothing he is willing to say or to reveal, and frankly watching him talk makes me feel uncomfortable.  I think he's truly and extremely phobic of social situations, as whatever kind of social anxiety disorder one might label it as.  Anyway, if he's required to talk, he's got to talk, and they'll either make a story of how little he says or of how hard it is to make him say so little.

I can totally relate to what he probably feels like having to stand in front of that many people and answer questions.  Psychologically taxing, even if they're not tough questions.

 

[Rebel_1812]

You can't promote and push foul music like Hip-Hop then get pissed when your children start using those terms.

You either stop promoting the garbage, or you deal with the ramifications. Simple.

Pretty sure hip-hop didn't invent those terms.

Cam'ron of Dipset made 'No Homo' popular.

The original point was spot on.  If you let TV raise your kids, they will start acting like people do on TV.  You get similar results with music.  People will use the phrases and words from the songs they listen to.  This is also the reason reading books can increase vocabulary. Nik is just trying to argue a tangent point, that ignores the entire point of the post.

 

[Rebel_1812]

Political correctness be damned.

That sentiment probably carries more weight coming from someone who hasn't shown his true disdain to be with the "correctness" half of the term.

Thats the entire point.  Who decides what is correct?  Political correctness is not decided of the people, by the people and for the people; I'll tell you that much.  What should we listen to, act according to, and have our beliefs bound by certain group?

 

[nutman]

Media.... Hmmmmm. I just hate them backstabbing story hunting clowns. good for Kessel, and I hope he shuts the press down until they learn to stop the bad press. and we know that will never happen.

 

[Bullfrog]

They were, yet again, going to ask him about Boston and possibly "the trade". This guy has a bullseye on his back and it's not even his fault. It's a team sport and yes he gets paid the big bucks and he knew the deal coming here, but right now it's a bit unfair. And the media made this into a headline "Leafs aren't happy with Phil Kessel's latest disappearing act" The Sun went so far as to say that Kessel has embarrassed the management. Yes, Kessel could have prevented that. But Nonis should have said no comment to the media and then handled it "internally" to Kessel's face before blabbing to the media as if he were his grade school principal.

And honestly, I could do without the 50,000th blabbering hockey cliche. And considering that many things said to the media that isn't a cliche by hockey is usually something misogynistic, homophobic, just plain rude or just plain dumb (hockey players aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree), I strongly prefer the right to be silent.

But again, on the other side of it, Kessel was good with media before, for being the what appears to be the introverted guy he is. Not sure what;s making him clam up now. Problems? Dunno but I hope not.

Interesting you complain about cliches by using stereotypical cliches.

I think professional athletes are just like other people: some are smart, some aren't.

 

[TML fan]

I know I said I wouldnt post, but I need to chime in on this.

I'm not surprised by Nonis' reaction to it. He's a complete puppet of this new management, and when management is two media giants, they probably get a little upset when their star player refuses to answer stupid questions. Guaranteed its a different reaction if Brian Burke is still running the show, and that's why he's not in charge anymore. Nonis needs to grow a pair and stick up for his players, particularly on the eve of the playoffs.

 

[Kin]

I'm not surprised by Nonis' reaction to it. He's a complete puppet of this new management, and when management is two media giants, they probably get a little upset when their star player refuses to answer stupid questions.

It has nothing to do with who the owners are. As HS says, media availability is an issue dictated by league policy.

 

[Bates]

It's amazing that players aren't lined up to sign here so they too can get to share the crap that Kessel has to go through.  Why the media and the fans are so determined to run him out of town is beyond me??

 

[Kin]

It's amazing that players aren't lined up to sign here so they too can get to share the crap that Kessel has to go through.  Why the media and the fans are so determined to run him out of town is beyond me??

It's a wonder these tough guys don't curl up into tiny little balls at the very idea of maybe having to...answer a question from the media. What an ordeal. And the same question every day? One that maybe mentions Tyler Seguin? How do they go on with their lives? How do they wake up in the morning? How haven't they just given up on life and abandoned the civlized world to find peace on some remote ashram?

 

[Bates]

Wonderful thoughts Nik but you seem to be forgetting that these people have choices on where they play as well.  And if you think many will choose the fish bowl of Toronto over other cities to live their lives and raise their families then I guess we disagree.  Who would want to be reminded of the same shitty stats everyday of your life like Kessel has been with "the trade"? 

 

[louisstamos]

Wonderful thoughts Nik but you seem to be forgetting that these people have choices on where they play as well.  And if you think many will choose the fish bowl of Toronto over other cities to live their lives and raise their families then I guess we disagree.  Who would want to be reminded of the same shitty stats everyday of your life like Kessel has been with "the trade"?

To be fair, I think this happens in every city - see Bryzgalov's rant in his media scrum yesterday.  The only difference is in Canada you'll get a larger number of reporters, but there are reporters who will ask "tough" questions all over the place...

 

[Brystine]

If I was a player picking based on city.. I'd probably pick San Jose or Anaheim. Detroit, Toronto, Dallas, St. Louis, LA would be at the bottom of my list.

 

[Champ Kind]

If I was a player picking based on city.. I'd probably pick San Jose or Anaheim. Detroit, Toronto, Dallas, St. Louis, LA would be at the bottom of my list.

Yeah, me too.  I bet Joffrey Lupul, Mikail Grabovski, and John-Michael Liles feel the same. 

Edit: Bye-bye Bozak!  See you later MacArthur!

 

[Kin]

Wonderful thoughts Nik but you seem to be forgetting that these people have choices on where they play as well.  And if you think many will choose the fish bowl of Toronto over other cities to live their lives and raise their families then I guess we disagree.

That'd be a perfectly valid opinion or argument if Phil Kessel was the very first player in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs who faced a harsh media but even the most cursory glance at the Leafs history shows that the team hasn't had notable trouble retaining players so long as their offers were financially competitive. Players do choose Toronto. All the time. Every year. If Kessel doesn't that would be on him, not the team or the media atmosphere.

 

[Brystine]

If I was a player picking based on city.. I'd probably pick San Jose or Anaheim. Detroit, Toronto, Dallas, St. Louis, LA would be at the bottom of my list.

Yeah, me too.  I bet Joffrey Lupul, Mikail Grabovski, and John-Michael Liles feel the same. 

Edit: Bye-bye Bozak!  See you later MacArthur!

Well.. I'd be willing to play in that hellhole known as Detroit for 5.5 Million a year, too.

I'd live outside Detroit of course, and wouldn't have my family with me, but still.. 5.5 Mil would be worth the 20 minutes I have to be outside in the city.

 

[Corn Flake]

The only UFA of note in recent memory that has walked away from Toronto despite the team wanting them to stay in a big way was Curtis Joseph.  And even with him, Pat Quinn recently let out of the bag that the board pulled the plug on him keeping Cujo when they had a deal in place... he signed for the same amount with Detroit. So basically the Leafs have not lost a key player to UFA in recent memory.

As for Kessel, he has done a lot in the past two seasons to greatly elevate the general fan opinion of him... he has gone from being the whipping boy and target of fan angst for a trade that looked pretty lopsided a few years ago to being a fan favorite player and mostly respected as a legit top 10 scorer in the league and a far better all round player than previously given credit for.

edit: Kessel is built for this media fishbowl town.. he doesn't seem bothered in the least by anything said about him outside of the locker room.  In fact in his very mild mannered way he seems to be blissfully ignorant of it all.

In short, the city is starting to fall in love with Phil Kessel the way we have with other really good players in the past who ended up as legends in this town.  That kind of adoration goes a long way towards a player wanting to stay.  I think the timing of this team starting to emerge as a winner again is just about perfect for helping Kessel want to be here. 

I really don't see the guy changing his mind and unless for some reason Leiweke hates the kid, they will fill a dump truck full of cash up and drive to his condo with it some time in the summer.

 

[BermudaBudsFan]

Cox (unsurprisingly) went after Kessel for this in the Star this morning.  The thing that bothers me about the press complaining about players not speaking to the media is the inherent conflict of interest in their engaging the subject.

 

[Bates]

Who are these big free agents that the Leafs have been able to attract to the City in the last few years?

 

[ZBBM]

If I was a player picking based on city.. I'd probably pick San Jose or Anaheim. Detroit, Toronto, Dallas, St. Louis, LA would be at the bottom of my list.

Yeah, me too.  I bet Joffrey Lupul, Mikail Grabovski, and John-Michael Liles feel the same. 

Edit: Bye-bye Bozak!  See you later MacArthur!

Well.. I'd be willing to play in that hellhole known as Detroit for 5.5 Million a year, too.

I'd live outside Detroit of course, and wouldn't have my family with me, but still.. 5.5 Mil would be worth the 20 minutes I have to be outside in the city.

Uh, believe it or not, not all of southeast Michigan is a war zone.  No millionaires would choose to live in Detroit proper anyway but hundreds of thousands live perfectly well in the general area.