Although likely appreciative of the compliment, Phil Kessel felt the need to come clean on a weighty issue.
"I didn't lose any weight, guys," the prize offseason acquisition of the Pittsburgh Penguins told reporters on Thursday. "Same as I've always been. Maybe a little bit."
While Kessel admitted that his eating habits improved this summer, he doesn't feel that that he had dropped the 13 pounds that was initially reported by TSN last week. The 27-year-old Kessel had been an active participant in the High Performance Training session of former Penguin Gary Roberts, who declined to divulge any specific numbers to reporters.
For what it's worth, Kessel is officially listed at 6-feet and 202 pounds.
The five-time 30-goal scorer will have to shoulder the load of considerable expectations when he is paired with captain Sidney Crosby on Pittsburgh's top line this season.
The fifth overall pick of the 2006 draft, Kessel has collected 247 goals and 273 assists in 668 career games with the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Kessel was acquired with forward Tyler Biggs, defenseman Tim Erixon and a 2016 second-round selection from Toronto on July 1. The Maple Leafs received forwards Nick Spaling, Kasperi Kapanen, blue-liner Scott Harrington and first- and third-round picks next year.
(h/t Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Hello and welcome to Pittsburgh, @PKessel81! pic.twitter.com/hseKFuQXpX
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 8, 2015
