Off-Season Showdown: DeRozan VS Kessel

[deck]

Hockey is different than Basketball in that you really don't need to work on your skills in the offseason. Also Kessel is veteren NHL player who is in his prime and really doesn't need to work hard in the offseason. The reason why he is a great player is because he has a great shot and that skill doesn't really go away in the offseason.

I know Mark Buehrle doesn't touch a baseball in the offseason until 2 weeks before spring training. This is just the Toronto Media trying to make a big deal out of nothing.

Lol, what? What an absurd post. Hockey skills are exactly the same as basketball; repetition will make a person better. Kessel is only 26, to say that he doesn't need to practice in the off-season to be a better player is one of the dumbest things I have ever read on this forum.

If Phil did the bare minimum and actually stayed in shape during the off-season, perhaps he would have the conditioning to be a two-way player. Instead he comes into camp looking like he spent the summer drinking beer and eating chicken wings.

There is no excuse for a person making 64 million dollars in the next eight years to be slacking off during the summer. If he needs physical rest, he should spend his time watching tape of a decent defensive player so he has an idea of what to aspire to.

[22haytham22]

He is a good player but it drives me nuts that he could be so much better. He is slowly just been packing the weight on and it has gotten really noticeable this off season. This is frustrating.

This pic was taken during the Winter Olympics.



And this pic was taken about a month ago....



How anyone can defend his work ethic should be embarrassed.

[photoWILD]

He is a good player but it drives me nuts that he could be so much better. He is slowly just been packing the weight on and it has gotten really noticeable this off season. This is frustrating.

This pic was taken during the Winter Olympics.



And this pic was taken about a month ago....



How anyone can defend his work ethic should be embarrassed.

Seriously. And here's DeMar about a month ago.

[6ixSideSniper]

Phil Kessel is more like Vince Carter then DeMar DeRozan. Dude seems content with coasting by on his natural talent. What a embarrassing way MLSE spent 64 mil.

[Regulator]

Leafs are a terribly run franchise. Nonis blew the cap by overpaying guys like Dion, Kessel, Clarkson. I gave up on them a long time ago. No rhyme or reason to what they do. From drafting, player development, free agent signings.... Incompetence at its finest.

[Ari_Emanuel]

Kessel is a selfish prick that only cares about the money. He has a little competitive streak in him and is talented so he'll lalways get 30+ goals a season but he has no desire to push himself further. He's a locker room black hole and is uncoachable - just the other day the Leafs new assistant coach threw him under the bus saying he vetoed a new play that was presented to help create more break away opportunities.

He's polar opposite of a guy like Tavres who's toughness, grit and confidence permeate the Black Hawks organization. Leafs will never win anything as long Phil's a our best player making $8M a season. Basically Stephon Marbury on blades.

[vado]

I don't really care that he only skated about 10 times in the offseason. Hockey players are supposed to rest up and hit the gym in the offseason. That's my concern he should be working on his cardio and trying to get stronger.

[RoleModel]

I thought this was going to be an episode of Cabbie Presents or something. Nope, just another humble brag from our fanbase.

[beanbag]

He doesn't need to train, he's already pretty good at going on 8 game goal droughts.

So is every other player in the league. Very few though are capable of 35+ goal seasons, but guess who's one of them?

[BramptonYute]

That speaks volumes towards their ineptitude.

Maybe... Kessel is really good though, he just gets maligned because he's a Leaf and they gave up a ransom for him.

He's a talented scorer no doubt. He's also a liability defensively. He's had a negative +/- every year of his career. I do have the utmost respect for him for overcoming cancer though. Especially at such a young age.

Using +/-?

Really?

[Blast Tyrant]

Maybe... Kessel is really good though, he just gets maligned because he's a Leaf and they gave up a ransom for him.

He's a talented scorer no doubt. He's also a liability defensively. He's had a negative +/- every year of his career. I do have the utmost respect for him for overcoming cancer though. Especially at such a young age.

Using +/-?

Really?

Sorry. I'm not into advanced puck metrics. +/- is relevant in basketball. It's something Derozan's contractors regularly use against him.

[BramptonYute]

He's a talented scorer no doubt. He's also a liability defensively. He's had a negative +/- every year of his career. I do have the utmost respect for him for overcoming cancer though. Especially at such a young age.

Using +/-?

Really?

Sorry. I'm not into advanced puck metrics. +/- is relevant in basketball. It's something Derozan's contractors regularly use against him.

Its cool dude, its just that +/- is easily the worst stat to make someone look bad in hockey.

Kessel doesnt rely on his upper body strength, its his legs that matter. He's an explosive skater that can blow by a defense man and and snipe one. Thats pretty much all he does, and he does it well. When he's hot, he's one of the best players in the league. But I will say this, I am worried about how fat he is looking. He's always been fat, but I dont think he's been this fat.

Kessel is far from a good character, work hard guy. Like the opposite of DD. But he gets the job done, and thats all that matters. I honestly good give two **** what a guy does in his offseason, as long he gets the job done, im happy.

[Throwback24]

he also said (whether you want to believe him or not is a different story) that he did off-ice workouts 4 times a week. hockey players also do more off-ice training (which can include anything that you can do on the ice minus the skates) than actual on-ice skating in the offseason

I also do off-ice workouts 4 times a week

SAme here

[Walid]

We're going to rip on a guy who spends his off-season relaxing and enjoying other things than hockey? Classic.

[VinBaker6]

We're going to rip on a guy who spends his off-season relaxing and enjoying other things than hockey? Classic.

I don't know if society is getting dumber or if its social media making people's dumb opinions more readily accessible.

Sent from my XT1034 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Clutch Carter]

Kessel doesn't need to improve but he's the one guy on the bench every year hunched over and sucking wind, completely out of breath.

In the words of Phaneuf, "Go eat more cookies Phil"

[Rapsfan151]

Hockey is different than Basketball in that you really don't need to work on your skills in the offseason. Also Kessel is veteren NHL player who is in his prime and really doesn't need to work hard in the offseason. The reason why he is a great player is because he has a great shot and that skill doesn't really go away in the offseason.

I know Mark Buehrle doesn't touch a baseball in the offseason until 2 weeks before spring training. This is just the Toronto Media trying to make a big deal out of nothing.

Lol, what? What an absurd post. Hockey skills are exactly the same as basketball; repetition will make a person better. Kessel is only 26, to say that he doesn't need to practice in the off-season to be a better player is one of the dumbest things I have ever read on this forum.

If Phil did the bare minimum and actually stayed in shape during the off-season, perhaps he would have the conditioning to be a two-way player. Instead he comes into camp looking like he spent the summer drinking beer and eating chicken wings.

There is no excuse for a person making 64 million dollars in the next eight years to be slacking off during the summer. If he needs physical rest, he should spend his time watching tape of a decent defensive player so he has an idea of what to aspire to.

He only skated 10 times but he was probably in the gym for 4 days a week like he said. Hockey players can benefit by not skating and working on their imbalances in the gym. Usually hockey players quads are a lot stronger than their hamstrings so by taking time off and strengthening their other parts of their body it is more beneficial and keeps players from not getting injured.

Many hockey players do this in the offseason but because Kessel is terrible with the media they make it out to be much more than it is. If Kessel was in Dallas or even Boston this would not be a big deal at all.

[kevindurant1]

Hockey is different than Basketball in that you really don't need to work on your skills in the offseason.

Every sport is the same. There is always room for improvement.

[deck]

Hockey is different than Basketball in that you really don't need to work on your skills in the offseason. Also Kessel is veteren NHL player who is in his prime and really doesn't need to work hard in the offseason. The reason why he is a great player is because he has a great shot and that skill doesn't really go away in the offseason.

I know Mark Buehrle doesn't touch a baseball in the offseason until 2 weeks before spring training. This is just the Toronto Media trying to make a big deal out of nothing.

Lol, what? What an absurd post. Hockey skills are exactly the same as basketball; repetition will make a person better. Kessel is only 26, to say that he doesn't need to practice in the off-season to be a better player is one of the dumbest things I have ever read on this forum.

If Phil did the bare minimum and actually stayed in shape during the off-season, perhaps he would have the conditioning to be a two-way player. Instead he comes into camp looking like he spent the summer drinking beer and eating chicken wings.

There is no excuse for a person making 64 million dollars in the next eight years to be slacking off during the summer. If he needs physical rest, he should spend his time watching tape of a decent defensive player so he has an idea of what to aspire to.

He only skated 10 times but he was probably in the gym for 4 days a week like he said. Hockey players can benefit by not skating and working on their imbalances in the gym. Usually hockey players quads are a lot stronger than their hamstrings so by taking time off and strengthening their other parts of their body it is more beneficial and keeps players from not getting injured.

Many hockey players do this in the offseason but because Kessel is terrible with the media they make it out to be much more than it is. If Kessel was in Dallas or even Boston this would not be a big deal at all.

If you look at Kessel's pre/start of season physic, and think that he spent the off-season behaving like a profession athlete, working out 4 times a week, then you are a fool.

And as I said before; him being in shape would be the bare minimum that I would expect from an athlete making the money he does.

[ant171717]

Ive been done with the Larfs since 2002.

As a child, seeing the anguish it brought my older siblings I decided not to venture there all together. Stuck with MLB, NFL and ofc NBA.

Being a Raps fan has been a tough ride but really, what on earth can you look at in the past 10+ years that would show the Leafs are heading in any sort of right direction? I was 15 y/o when they signed Eric Lindross, Micheal Peca and Jason Allison so washed up... Clown Franchise.