Phil Kessel came to the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Toronto Maple Leafs last offseason with high expectations. Kessel was coming off a 61-point season with the Maple Leafs and the prospect of playing alongside Sidney Crosby had everyone expecting Kessel's offensive output to skyrocket. However, with 35 points through 55 games, that hasn't exactly been the case, and Penguins GM Jim Rutherford isn't satisfied with Kessel's production, according to the Toronto Sun.
"Phil's done OK," said Rutherford. "You always want more from him, because you know what the talent level is and how he can score."
The Penguins acquired Kessel in a six-player deal last summer; the 28-year-old winger was thrown on a line with Crosby upon arrival, but Kessel struggled to adjust to Crosby's distributing style of play and took some time to settle into the Penguins lineup.
"They were trying so hard to make that work. I mean they're both great passers and every time they got the puck they would try to pass it to the other guy, even if that's not what the play was," Rutherford added.
Kessel is on pace for 24 goals this season, according to the Score - that's one less than he scored last year with the Maple Leafs while playing on a line centered by Tyler Bozak. However, after moving to a line centered by Evgeni Malkin, Kessel has begun to warm up, scoring 15 points in his last 19 games, according to Fox Sports. And now that Kessel has found some success, Rutherford wants to make sure it continues.
"I believe if Phil went back and played with Sid, now that the experiment happened, they would play fine together. The newness has worn off. But I doubt it will end up that way, because there's been good chemistry with Malkin and Kessel," Rutherford said.
With the Penguins clinging to the second wildcard spot in the tight eastern conference, an offensive explosion from Kessel would be timely coming down the playoff stretch.
