On September 18, 2009, the Bruins traded Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2010 first-round pick (Tyler Seguin), a 2010 second-round pick (Jared Knight) and a 2011 first-round pick (Dougie Hamilton).
Immediately afterward, the Leafs signed him to a five-year, $27 million contract.

Kessel, however, was sidelined for the first month of the season with a shoulder injury incurred the year before that required surgery.
Finally, on November 3, 2009, Kessel made his much-anticipated debut as a Leaf against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He had a total of ten shots on goal in the game, a career-high, though he did not record any assists or goals.
Despite not recording any points and his team falling 2–1 to the Lightning in overtime, Kessel was named the third star of the game.
He scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf just four days later in a 5–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Air Canada Centre.

December 5, 2009, marked the first time that Kessel played against his former team, the Bruins, at TD Garden.
His return to Boston was marked with thunderous taunting chants of his name by his former home crowd, along with a chorus of boos every time he had possession of the puck.
Kessel was on the ice for the first three of the seven goals that Boston scored in their 7–2 victory, eventually finishing the game a −3 plus-minus with two shots on the night.
After the game, Kessel said in a post-game interview on NESN that the fans' reaction "did not affect [him]."
He did state, however, that it was the "worst game [he] had played in a while", and that he needed to "play better."

After the 2010 NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers on January 1, 2010, USA Hockey announced that Kessel, along with then-Maple Leaf teammate Mike Komisarek, made the Olympic roster to represent Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics. (
Komisarek, however, would miss the Olympics due to injury).
In six games at the Olympics, Kessel tallied a goal and an assist as the U.S. won a silver medal, falling to Canada in the final.

On April 2, 2011, Kessel posted his third consecutive 30-goal season, reaching the mark after scoring against the Ottawa Senators.
At the time, he was among eight other NHL players, including League stars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, who have scored 30 goals or more in a season three times since the 2008–09 regular season.

Kessel had another strong start to a season in 2011–12, scoring his first hat-trick as a Maple Leaf (a career third) in just the team's second game of the season.
He would go on to finish the month as the NHL's top scorer and was subsequently named the NHL's First Star of the Month for October.
That season, Kessel was once again named an NHL All-Star and was selected to Team Chara in the eighth round of the Fantasy Draft by Toronto linemate Joffrey Lupul.

On February 6, 2012, Kessel reached the 300-point plateau after a three-point performance against the Edmonton Oilers.
The next day, he hit the 30-goal mark for the fourth-straight year (third-straight as a Maple Leaf) after beating Ondřej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets.
Later that month, Kessel continued to reach milestones, scoring his 65th point of the season (which broke his old career-high) in a 2–1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

An NHL player's poll conducted by Sports Illustrated and released in February 2012 named Kessel "the easiest (player) to intimidate" in the NHL.
He was named by 15% of NHL player respondents while Vancouver Canucks' Daniel and Henrik Sedin were next with 8%.
The results were based on the input of 145 NHL players who responded to Sports Illustrated's survey.
The poll drew controversy from many, including then-Toronto General Manager Brian Burke due to the inflammatory nature of the question and which players were polled (i.e. no one in the Maple Leafs' or Canucks organizations agreed to have players complete the survey).

In another player survey, this one by The Hockey News, Kessel was ranked as the 16th best player in the League by his peers.
The results in this survey were based on responses fr
On September 18, 2009, the Bruins traded Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2010 first-round pick (Tyler Seguin), a 2010 second-round pick (Jared Knight) and a 2011 first-round pick (Dougie Hamilton). Immediately afterward, the Leafs signed him to a five-year, $27 million contract.
Kessel, however, was sidelined for the first month of the season with a shoulder injury incurred the year before that required surgery. Finally, on November 3, 2009, Kessel made his much-anticipated debut as a Leaf against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had a total of ten shots on goal in the game, a career-high, though he did not record any assists or goals. Despite not recording any points and his team falling 2–1 to the Lightning in overtime, Kessel was named the third star of the game. He scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf just four days later in a 5–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Air Canada Centre.
December 5, 2009, marked the first time that Kessel played against his former team, the Bruins, at TD Garden. His return to Boston was marked with thunderous taunting chants of his name by his former home crowd, along with a chorus of boos every time he had possession of the puck. Kessel was on the ice for the first three of the seven goals that Boston scored in their 7–2 victory, eventually finishing the game a −3 plus-minus with two shots on the night. After the game, Kessel said in a post-game interview on NESN that the fans' reaction "did not affect [him]." He did state, however, that it was the "worst game [he] had played in a while", and that he needed to "play better."
After the 2010 NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers on January 1, 2010, USA Hockey announced that Kessel, along with then-Maple Leaf teammate Mike Komisarek, made the Olympic roster to represent Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Komisarek, however, would miss the Olympics due to injury). In six games at the Olympics, Kessel tallied a goal and an assist as the U.S. won a silver medal, falling to Canada in the final.
On April 2, 2011, Kessel posted his third consecutive 30-goal season, reaching the mark after scoring against the Ottawa Senators. At the time, he was among eight other NHL players, including League stars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, who have scored 30 goals or more in a season three times since the 2008–09 regular season.
Kessel had another strong start to a season in 2011–12, scoring his first hat-trick as a Maple Leaf (a career third) in just the team's second game of the season. He would go on to finish the month as the NHL's top scorer and was subsequently named the NHL's First Star of the Month for October. That season, Kessel was once again named an NHL All-Star and was selected to Team Chara in the eighth round of the Fantasy Draft by Toronto linemate Joffrey Lupul.
On February 6, 2012, Kessel reached the 300-point plateau after a three-point performance against the Edmonton Oilers. The next day, he hit the 30-goal mark for the fourth-straight year (third-straight as a Maple Leaf) after beating Ondřej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets. Later that month, Kessel continued to reach milestones, scoring his 65th point of the season (which broke his old career-high) in a 2–1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
An NHL player's poll conducted by Sports Illustrated and released in February 2012 named Kessel "the easiest (player) to intimidate" in the NHL. He was named by 15% of NHL player respondents while Vancouver Canucks' Daniel and Henrik Sedin were next with 8%. The results were based on the input of 145 NHL players who responded to Sports Illustrated's survey. The poll drew controversy from many, including then-Toronto General Manager Brian Burke due to the inflammatory nature of the question and which players were polled (i.e. no one in the Maple Leafs' or Canucks organizations agreed to have players complete the survey).
In another player survey, this one by The Hockey News, Kessel was ranked as the 16th best player in the League by his peers. The results in this survey were based on responses fr
Phil Kessel