Phil Kessel will make his season and Maple Leafs debut on Tuesday when Toronto hosts Tampa Bay.

Kessel, who was dealt from the Boston Bruins in the offseason in exchange for three draft picks, has missed the first 12 games of the year after recovering from rotator cuff surgery.

"Everything went good, so I'm cleared to play. I'll be in there tonight." Kessel said after practice. "We have a couple of fast lines so we have to make sure we use it. It'll be my first time together with whoever I'm paired."

The fifth-overall pick of Boston in the 2006 draft, Kessel turned in career highs with 36 goals and 60 points in 72 games last season.

Toronto has struggled mightily in his absence, sporting the worst record in the NHL at 1-7-4 and tallying only 30 goals in 12 contests.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@