Phil Kessel isn’t exactly the most expressive player in the NHL. Ask any media member who covers the Toronto Maple Leafs, and they will describe Kessel as the type of player who shies away from media scrums in most post-game situations. This lack of public expression also applies to Kessel’s twitter, as he has only 132 tweets on his account. Or should that be 134? You see, Kessel made two tweets last night that caused a bit of a stir amongst some fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He would later delete them.

The first seems innocent enough:

Night fishing with friends doesn’t get much better— Phil Kessel (@PKessel81) April 22, 2014

Kessel was expressing that he had an enjoyable evening of relaxation with some friends. However a number of Leafs fans weren’t happy that Kessel was having a good time. He was bombarded with tweets that playoff hockey would be better, and over tweets about how he (and the Leafs) should still be playing hockey instead of fishing. It seems that some fans are still extremely upset with the Leafs late season collapse, and aren’t afraid to chirp Kessel about it on twitter.

Kessel then responded to the barrage, in a way that I think many people would. However given the deletions he (or some PR person) has apparently thought that getting into a public spat with fans is probably not best for his image. Better to just walk away at this point.

Relax people playoffs would been better some of u need to chill out it’s crazy— Phil Kessel (@PKessel81) April 22, 2014

I think that given the circumstances, Kessel’s twitter activities will likely be few and far between again, and thats the real problem here. For someone who isn’t comfortable expressing himself publicly, this type of reaction to some innocent twitter comments isn’t going to draw him out going forward. Expect more short, awkward interviews full of cliches going forward, and very few tweets from Kessel.

The type of raw emotion seen in Kessel’s season ending interview, when he took personal blame for the Leafs results was a refreshing change. Its unfortunate these reactions to more expression from Kessel will likely make him withdraw further, at least publically.

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