Phil Kessel Joins the World Poker Tour as Brand Ambassador: A Passion 20 Years in the Making

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Graham Montgomery
October 8, 2024 (11:18 PM)

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Former NHL forward and current ironman streak leader Phil Kessel just signed a new contract, but it is not with any current NHL team.

Kessel, 37, missed the entirety of the 2023-24 season after he failed to get a legitimate contract offer from any NHL club, despite the fact that he wanted to play. He even went on the record saying that he would be willing to give up his ironman streak to get back into the NHL, but he had no luck. He did get an offer to join the Vancouver Canucks effectively on a professional tryout, but that only lasted a few days and he was released after a couple of practices with the team. That was the last time any NHL team expressed any interest in him publicly.

Will Phil Kessel continue his career with the Canucks?

Unfortunately, Kessel has simply aged out of the league. He is now 37 years old and hasn't played a game in over a year. Despite the fact that he could still put up points, the rest of his game simply was not NHL caliber.

Now he finally appears to be pivoting away from hockey despite the fact that he still technically remains active and a free-agent. In fact, according to the most recent reports, he is still hoping to make a comeback. In the meantime though, he has signed a deal with the World Poker Tour as a brand ambassador. In addition to his hockey career, Kessel has been a long-time poker enthusiast, so it makes sense that he would sign such a deal.

Unfortunately for Kessel, NHL teams are always going to be more interested in younger players. For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs just signed Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz after both players entered training camp on PTOs with the team.

That being said, fans are almost universally in favor of giving Kessel one last shot in the NHL. After all, he is just 8 points shy of reaching 1000 for his career, and who wouldn't want to see that happen?