Phil Kessel spends day with cup in Toronto, heads to Sick Kids

Photo Credit: Twitter / @SickKidsNews

We all had crazy ideas for what former Leafs forward Phil Kessel should do with his day with the Stanley Cup. Most of them involved hot dogs or making fun of mainstream media members, but we mostly just wanted him to have fun calling out his “haters”.

Of course, Phil is a much better human being than all of us, so he’s done something much more noble.

Kessel spent yesterday night at home in Madison, Wisconsin, but as he promised, brought the trophy back to his “second home” today. Rather than take advantage of his one day of acceptable smugness, his first stop was to head to SickKids hospital to give the children a chance to pose with the historic trophy.

Once you think about it, it’s not a shock. As part of a team initiative started by Dion Phaneuf in 2009, Kessel regularly donated a luxury box at the Air Canada Centre to Childhood Cancer Canada, even scoring a hat trick on one of those nights. 

It’s a cause that Kessel relates to, having suffered through testicular cancer as a teenaged rookie with the Bruins in 2007. Despite undergoing treatment mid-season, he missed just twelve games.

Overall, it’s a really cool gesture, though we’re sure he’ll be having some fun tonight as well. Kessel has also been spotted having lunch with his friends in the core with the trophy, and Phaneuf posted on his Instagram that he (along with his wife, Elisha Cuthbert) were en route to Toronto to enjoy the day with their friend.

If you would like to support Phil in his endeavours, you can make a donation to the SickKids Foundation here.