Former Toronto Maple Leaf James van Riemsdyk played three seasons with Phil Kessel in Toronto before Kessel was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1st, 2016. A video of JVR on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast a few years ago has resurfaced with JVR sharing a hilarious story of how Kessel chirped him the first time Toronto and Pittsburgh played each other the following season.
As Kessel has made his way around the league with 3 Stanley Cups, since being traded out of Toronto, more and more stories have been shared by players about just how funny he is, making it very clear that Kessel has been a very popular player among his teammates over his career. While he remains unsigned this season, he has admitted he is okay with losing his Ironman streak if it means a chance at another Cup and is currently skating in Abbotsford with the Vancouver Canucks' AHL affiliate in hopes of signing a deal in Vancouver before March 8th.
