DALLAS -- Looking tanned and rested, Mike Sullivan was speaking Friday night about the benefits of getting away from the game for a little bit. But try as he might, he just couldn't escape the Phil Kessel talk, even here at the NHL Draft.
Since the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of this year's playoffs by Washington, there has been no shortage of speculation, rumor and innuendo regarding Kessel. If it hasn't been questions about Kessel's health, it's been questions about his relationship with his coach and even his future status in Pittsburgh.
Well, this much we can confirm: Through one day of the draft, Kessel is indeed still a member of the Penguins, not of the Arizona Coyotes or Los Angeles Kings. How much longer he is with the team remains to be seen.
Judging by Sullivan's words and tone when speaking Friday night, rumor of Kessel's Pittsburgh demise might have been exaggerated.
The coach seemed almost anxious, wanting to clear the air after his postseason remarks regarding Kessel's injuries -- "It was nothing significant, I can tell you that" -- started off the firestorm.
When I asked Sullivan Friday why he felt Kessel struggled down the stretch, he still couldn't explain it. But, he emphasized, it wasn't for a lack of effort:
"Phil had a great season for us," Sullivan said. "He had one of the best seasons of his career. He was one of our better players for a lot of the season. He 's a guy that helped contribute and put our team in a position to compete for the Stanley Cup. It's hard to explain in a short circumstance how certain players perform and don't perform. But the reality is that I know Phil's heart was in the right place, his effort is in the right place. Every guy on our team is trying to help our team win. That's the nature of sports. We're doing everything we can as a coaching staff to put them in positions to be successful. But that's sport. Phil's body of work has been very strong with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and we have a lot of respect for that."
Kessel established career highs with 58 assists and 92 points while leading the NHL in power play points (42) in 2017-18. But he faltered down the stretch while playing through what most assumed was an upper body injury. Still, he managed to extend his consecutive games played streak to 692, the third-longest current streak in the league. But in 12 playoff games, Kessel had just one goal on just 18 shots.
By season's end, he was skating on the third line and not his preferred role of riding shotgun with Evgeni Malkin. Sullivan admitted he hasn't always seen eye-to-eye with Kessel about his role and his ice time, but denied there was any sort of rift.
He said the media has created a narrative that doesn't match the reality. He said there is a "mutual respect" and their three-year-old professional relationship has "never been better."
"It hasn't changed. It's evolved because we've been through different experiences both as a group and as individuals, but my relationship with Phil is the same as it's always been," Sullivan said. "It's one of respect, of mutual respect, and that's how I see it.
"I like Phil a lot as a person and as a hockey player. He's been a big part of the Pittsburgh Penguins' success over the last three seasons. He's coming off a 92-point season that put us in great position to compete again for the Stanley Cup. He was a huge part of the two Stanley Cups that we won. Myself and our coaching staff have nothing but respect for the type of player and the person that he is."