Phil Kessel’s Return to Boston Yet Again a Storyline, But Time Has Come for All Involved to Move On

BOSTON — Phil Kessel is back in Boston, which means another round of what Bruins coach Claude Julien derisively dubbed "Kesselmania" two years ago.

And two years ago it was a fun sideshow to track every awkward moment of the former Bruin's first returns to the Garden. The wound was fresh from Kessel's turbulent departure from the club and there was some extra added incentive with every loss by Kessel and the Leafs improving the draft picks Boston got in exchange for him.

But now all those picks have been used. The trade is complete. The Bruins have won a Cup without Kessel, and the Leafs have remained a non-playoff team with him. Both teams have moved on, but some can't just let this story go.

And with an invasion of Canadian media at the Garden for Thursday's clash with the Leafs, the same old storylines were regurgitated once again. One TV reporter from north of the border even asked Julien after the morning skate if the Kessel talk will ever go away whenever the teams meet, all while ensuring that the talk will continue for at least one more meeting by beginning that line of questioning yet again.

"Well that's up to you guys," Julien responded. "It's certainly not created by us. It's you guys that create the story all the time. We don't. We've turned the page. I'm sure they have. Everybody wants to move on, but you guys control that so I should be asking you that question. Are you guys ever going to make that story die?"

It's a story that should die, a dead horse beaten far too long already. It's fine for the fans if they want to continue to boo Kessel when he plays in Boston. They earned that right when they shelled out the significant sums it takes to get a seat in the Garden these days. But the constant comparisons between Kessel and Tyler Seguin are unfair to both players and the other 38 players on the ice.

Kessel is a highly skilled player off to another strong start this season. He comes into Thursday's contest leading the league with 7-5-12 totals through five games. He's also still a very flawed star who did not fit in here with his defensive deficiencies and aversion to physical play. And he also still has to prove that he can have the same kind of impact offensively in April and beyond that he has each October.

That's not to say the Bruins don't respect his abilities, just that there should be no reason for anyone to regret his departure. 

"He's off to a good start again," Julien said. "That's been a trademark of Phil's. He gets off to really good starts and I watched him play [Wednesday] night and he's playing extremely well. His line has been doing a lot of damage out there on the ice so I think we need to understand the danger of that and make sure that we are very aware when they're out there on the ice."

Seguin, the first of the players Boston selected with the three picks received for Kessel, is off to a solid start of his own. He leads the Bruins with 1-4-5 totals through six games and has spent the past three games centering the top line with David Krejci sidelined with an injury.

Seguin got off to a slow start as a rookie last year, but the Bruins' depth allowed the club to slowly ease him into the mix. They ended a 39-year championship drought without needing Seguin to play a major role, though he did show flashes of the bright future ahead with a memorable playoff debut against Tampa Bay.

This year, Seguin is starting to realize some of that vast potential, and there should be even less reason for anyone to fixate on the loss of Kessel now more than two years in the rearview mirror.

"He's been good, he's been very good," Julien said of Seguin. "I think the fact that he's had the opportunity to be with us for a whole year and that experience what we went through last year couldn't have been better for him — just watching the game, the tempo, the intensity of all the playoffs games and him being part of that. So over the course of the summer, a guy like that soaks that in, he comes back this year with a lot more confidence, a lot more knowledge, and obviously a stronger and better player."

Kessel looks like a better player as well, perhaps a better fit in Toronto, where his start has given long-suffering Leafs fans some reason for optimism, even as last year's 4-0-0 start that was followed by just one win in the next 12 games stands as a bitter reminder to temper that October enthusiasm.

On the Bruins' side, there even more reason to look forward. The club is a Stanley Cup champion, and the development of Seguin and the other players acquired with those Kessel picks — Jared Knight and Dougie Hamilton — gives hope for more titles to come. With that kind of future, it's time to stop looking back at the past and finally put an end to the Kesselmania hype.