It caused a shock in Vancouver when the Canucks announced that the veteran Phil Kessel would be in town to practice with the team's AHL affiliate. The record man had not played since last year's playoffs, and the team's management wanted to see if he could still bring value to an aspiring NHL team.
The Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal ended up revealing the sudden change of direction in this plan. The Kessel were willing to spend some time down in Abbotsford for a conditionning stint, while the Canucks intended on playing down in the AHL and have him as a backup if needed be:
At the end of the day, signing Kessel most likely meant that there wouldn't be room for the Canucks to keep Vasily Podkolzin or another youngster up in the NHL. Would it have been better to have a developing young player, or the experienced NHL journeyman?
