I agree with the Toronto media piece, but it's funny because fans of other teams absolutely slammed Kessel all the time, called him fat, one dimensional etc., and now everyone loves him.
Either way, most Leafs fans still love Phil and are happy he has been successful with the Pens.
100%. The media was a mess and still can be at times, but opposing fanbases rode that wave and jumped all over Kessel too, calling him fat, lazy, one-dimensional, locker-room cancer, etc. etc.; the list is endless. Toronto fans, despite knowing they could not win with him as their #1 guy, defended Kessel constantly against the rest of the league.
That changed the second he went to Pittsburgh, and now his underrated attributes are recognized (e.g. playmaking ability, humour, playoff ability).