The New Jersey Devils are full. They don't have room for the contracts they need to sign with their restricted free agents, so the thought of adding any more veterans, no matter how cheap, is a non-starter, unfortunately. The Devils are a young, exciting team with real championship aspirations after a relative roster overhaul and a head coaching change this offseason.
Yet, there is one major reason why they will indeed be in on a few professional tryouts. They start the season in Czechia, with two games against former head coach Lindy Ruff and the Buffalo Sabres. That game is literally less than 24 hours after their last preseason game... in Philadelphia.
So the Devils either have to get their entire team from Philadelphia at 10 pm EST to Prague at 1 pm our time the next day (impossible), or they have to have their entire opening-night roster miss the last preseason game (and likely the one before that, as well) and find a roster to fill that Philadelphia game. The latter option is the only option.
How will the Devils fill an entire roster without ruining the salary cap or going nuts on waivers? Obviously, a lot of that roster will be the roster for the Utica Comets, but they can also fill up on professional tryouts so they can let some of their younger players start the season where they need to, whether that's in Utica or elsewhere.
One of those tryouts should go to Phil Kessel.
Okay, this is a headline grabber. We are openly admitting that here, but it does make sense from a pure business standpoint. Both the Devils final preseason games are on the road, but Kessel can join the Devils for training camp and play some of the games at the Prudential Center.
Kessel missed last season after he went unsigned after winning the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights. He clearly lost a few steps, and he didn't have the same impact on that team. His consecutive games streak is more of a burden because teams feel they can't bench Kessel when he's not working out. However, with a PTO, the Devils can decide to say goodbye to the former Maple Leafs star.
Why would Kessel agree to do this? Well, what better place to get a tryout than with the team starring Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. Hughes will likely get a kick out of playing with an American hockey legend. He's a veteran presence who doesn't seem to take himself so seriously, similar to the personality of P.K. Subban. He was beloved in that locker room despite not being the star he once was on the ice. Kessel can do someting similar on a much smaller scale.
Kessel can use this experience to try to get another NHL job. If he proves he still has an NHL skill set, then a team will come calling. Maybe a star on another team gets injured and Kessel can fill that void for a few weeks. Heck, that could happen on the Devils.
It also depends on how desperate Kessel is to get back in the league. Is he willing to play in Utica to start the season? That team could sorely use that type of veteran presence who could absolutely still score at the AHL level with consistency. That seems like a long shot, but it's definitely not out of the question.
It's not likely, but it would be fun. Since the Devils really aren't evaluating many PTOs for roster spots like in years past, they should have some fun and do something interesting with these choices. Kessel would even sell some jerseys, only as the conversation piece. People like those quirky signings, even if they don't work out. Just let us have some fun Tom.