Phil Kessel will be getting a fresh start with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, escaping the spotlight and often times ridiculous scrutiny that comes with being a hockey player in Toronto.
He's also going to get an opportunity to play alongside one of the best centers in the world in either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, a development that could have a huge impact on his production. Ron Wilson, one of Kessel's former coaches with the Maple Leafs, thinks he could even have a career-year offensively telling NHL.com on Monday that he sees Kessel scoring 40 goals this season with the Penguins.
"Phil will do just fine [in Pittsburgh]," said Wilson, via NHL.com. "Whether he plays with Malkin or Sid, he's got a center iceman who can get him the puck and do things on his own. In Toronto he didn't quite have that."
And that is the key point here when it comes to Kessel and what he might be able to do in Pittsburgh. The obvious upgrade in talent when it comes to the regular center on his line.
Even though he never had a center like Crosby or Malkin during his time with the Maple Leafs, Kessel was still able to average more than 30 goals per season, one of the best marks in the entire league, while spending the majority of his time in recent years playing alongside Tyler Bozak. Keep in mind, Bozak is a player that has just three goals and 11 assists during 5-on-5 play in his entire career when he is not skating alongside Kessel. And now he is guaranteed to be skating next to a former NHL MVP and scoring champion (crowns that both Crosby and Malkin own).
Still, even with Kessel's scoring ability and the potential dynamic duo he could form with either one of his new teammates, 40 goals is a very bold prediction when you consider only eight different players in the league have topped that mark over the past four years. Only one player (James Neal in 2011-12) has ever scored 40 goals in a single season while playing on either Crosby or Malkin's wing.
Kessel's previous career high in a season was 37. He scored 25 this past year with the Maple Leafs.
But again, he was putting up all of those numbers with obviously inferior players to what he is going to have next to him this season, and linemates have a significant impact on how much a player is able to produce. Just about every player that spends time next to Crosby and Malkin sees an increase in their production, whether it's been Chris Kunitz, James Neal, Ruslan Fedotenko, Petr Sykora, Pascal Dupuis or most recently Patric Hornqvist. Kessel is going to be the next one to get that opportunity, and he is clearly the most skilled player out of that bunch.
