Toronto Maple Leafs: Is Phil Kessel Overrated or Underrated?

January 18th, 2011 by Lukas Hardonk Leave a reply »
Since coming to Toronto, Phil Kessel has not been the 40-plus goal scoring, point-per-game player that most Maple Leafs fans thought he would be. But he is close to becoming one.

When most people look at Kessel's career accomplishments, they see one thing: success in Boston. When he played for the Bruins in 2008-2009, Kessel scored 36 goals in 70 games alongside playmaking centre Marc Savard.

There is no doubt Kessel will be able to reach the 40-goal plateau that is still expected of him this season if Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke can manage to work his magic and bring a top-six playmaker to Toronto.

It wouldn't be hard to argue that everyone is expecting way too much from Kessel. Playing on a young and inexperienced Maple Leafs team that sits well out of a playoff spot, the Madison, Wisconsin native isn't in what you would call an ideal situation.

But on the other hand, most Maple Leafs fans are not realizing how well has has actually been playing.

This season, the 23-year-old has 19 goals and 12 assists in 44 games, putting him on pace for 35 goals and 22 assists. Keep in mind, those impressive ...

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