He is an elite athlete, who just happens to look like an Everyman.
An intensely private person, who is truly known by few, but loved by many.
A guy who arrived here with a sour reputation, but left with some sweet memories.
Oh, and a couple of Stanley Cup rings.
And Friday night, Phil Kessel will report to work at PPG Paints Arena for the first time since he was traded to Arizona in June, in the most anticipated return since Marc-Andre Fleury showed up in a sweater with a knight's helmet on it.
'A REALLY FUNNY GUY'
Kessel spent four years in this town, and departed without people knowing him much better than they did when he arrived from Toronto in 2015.
People outside the organization, anyway.
Kessel is an intensely private sort, and submits to interviews with the enthusiasm most people reserve for sedation-free oral surgery. And when he does speak publicly, the words generally are so dry that they threaten to spontaneously combust as they pass over his lips.
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