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After the Leafs traded him he's won 2 Stanley Cups. As a multi-year all star with strong goal scoring numbers and multiple Stanley Cups is Kessel now a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame?


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He probably would have gotten there on production alone. I think he'll get close to 500 goals when it's all said and done. He's an ironman and could sleepwalk 20 goals a year for the next 10 seasons.

His stats may be good by the end of his career but I feel like the respect for his intangibles etc. may not be too great. His stats compared to his era is not bad compared to some players like Kariya and Roenick who aren't in yet but I feel like he's considered a worse player

I think intangibles is to some degree overrated. I'm not saying it's negligible but Kessel was in a bad situation in Toronto and for a guy who doesn't like to talk much, he handled it about as well as he could have.

That said, while to some Leafs fans it hurts to see Kessel winning Cups, bear in mind that we wouldn't be in our excellent situation right now if it weren't for the trade.

Kessel is a superstar. The haters have admit that. He is not Crosby or Malkin. But similar to Paul Kariya who is in the HOF now. Toronto was just the wrong fit for a quiet shy young man. In Pittsburgh he gets out of the spotlight and shines..... Penguins DO NOT win 2 Cups without Kessel. Period.

Kessel changed the Penguins fortunes. And in the long run, allowed Toronto to be in the situation it is in now. With Kessel, there is no Auston Matthews here. Again Period.